Memphis, Tenn. – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital recently received more than $500,000 from the estate of Anna Louise Dixon, a graduate of Ashland (Ky.) High School and a lifelong resident of Ashland.

St. Jude is one of the world’s premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.

“On behalf of the patients and families of St. Jude, we want to express our gratitude to Ms. Dixon,” said David L. McKee, chief operating officer and interim CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude.

“This is a gift to children in communities everywhere, because the groundbreaking research and lifesaving treatment at St. Jude is freely shared with doctors and scientists throughout the world.”

Legacy gifts from donors like Ms. Dixon have helped St. Jude make tremendous strides in its mission to find cures and save children.

One example is St. Jude’s development of combination therapy for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, which revolutionized leukemia therapy worldwide and increased the survival rate from 4 percent, when St. Jude opened in 1962, to 94 percent today. St. Jude’s innovative research also has led to a dramatic increase in survival rates for children with many other major forms of cancer.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization.

For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.