Philanthropist Allison Mignone has turned her triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis into a positive development for women’s health.
Mignone and her husband, Roberto, donated $50 million to transform the NYU Langone East 53rd Street Ambulatory Care Center into the Mignone Women’s Health Collaborative.
The Griffin Healthspan and Vitality Center will open on the second floor thanks to a $10 million gift from Citadel founder Ken Griffin. Work is set to begin next year.
“My vision is for women to be seen,” Mignone told The Post.
“Many times, we’re not honest about what we’re experiencing. We’re rushed, we’re overlooked,” she added. “I really wanted to help build something that changes that, whether you’re coming in for a routine checkup or navigating some horrible diagnosis or just asking questions about your health.”
The Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health, which opened in 2011, will be part of the new collaborative.
The initiative unites 125 expert providers across 20 major areas in women’s health, including preventive care, pregnancy support, midlife health and fibroid treatment.
“You’re going to receive care that is holistic, not siloed,” Mignone said.
For her part, Mignone learned three years ago that she had triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive disease characterized by the absence of three key receptors, limiting treatment options.
NYU Langone surgical oncologist Dr. Deborah Axelrod removed the cancer from Mignone’s right breast. At the same time, cosmetic and breast plastic surgeon Dr. Mihye Choi reduced the size of her left breast so it would match.
“It was really that transformative cancer diagnosis that changed me,” Mignone said.
“I felt so lucky in my life because I had these resources, these amazing doctors, my family to support me, friends,” she continued, “and I realized there are many other women who do not have that kind of support, they do not have a clear plan, they do not receive holistic care, and that’s not fair.”
Patients can expect advanced imaging, MRIs for muscle/fat composition, longevity and cancer screenings and enrollment in clinical studies if they are high risk.
The Griffin Healthspan and Vitality Center will emphasize ways women can stay active and healthy as they age, nutrition coaching, wellness classes and therapy for caregiving stress, trauma and burnout, among other services.
“For so long, women have wanted to feel cared for as whole people head to toe, and in this setting, we are finally really doing that,” Dr. Elizabeth Comen, breast oncologist and collaborative co-director, told The Post.
“We’re going to actually be teaching women how to exercise, how to properly lift weights, what 4 ounces of chicken genuinely looks like, as opposed to just saying, ‘Limit the amount of carbs that you eat or limit the amount of fats that you eat,’ ” she added. “That we’ll be giving real women real advice that’s evidence-based is very exciting to me.”
Griffin said in a statement that he was “honored to join the Mignone family in expanding access to cutting-edge programs for women in important areas such as physical vitality, movement science and mental and emotional health — helping people live longer, healthier lives.”
The collaborative will also help establish new women’s health coursework at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, examining ways to better serve women.
Women’s health needs have been historically neglected, leading to delayed or missed diagnoses, inadequate treatment and poorer health outcomes.
“Every generation of women deserves to live longer and healthier lives than the ones that came before it, and that is my goal,” Mignone said.
A mother of four daughters, Mignone is a member of NYU Langone’s Board of Overseers, an advisory board. Roberto A. Mignone, founder and president of Bridger Management LLC, is vice chair of the NYU Langone Board of Trustees.
The couple has funded initiatives such as the Mignone Center for Career Success at Harvard and the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC.
