Philadelphia Theatre Company Sends Cast of Wit To Visit Fox Chase Cancer Center

PHILADELPHIA�(February 25, 2000) -- Cast members from the Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of Wit, a play which examines the life of a woman with ovarian cancer, will visit Fox Chase Cancer Center on Tuesday, February 29 at 10 a.m.� The primary focus of the visit is for cast members to meet doctors, nurses and patients to better understand the reality of having cancer.

Wit is a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Margaret Edson of a brilliant and brutally demanding professor battling cancer.� Dr. Vivian Bearing is a highly esteemed English professor and scholar of John Donne.� Though accustomed to being in charge, Dr. Bearing quickly finds herself on the other side of the teacher/student equation as she becomes the object of medical scrutiny and experimentation.

During their visit at Fox Chase, the cast will meet women with ovarian cancer and visit patients in the chemotherapy infusion room.� Dr. Corey Langer of Fox Chase will talk to the cast about clinical trials, a theme examined in the play.� The cast will also spend time visiting with ambulatory care nurses.

Wit opens March 17 and runs through April 16 at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Street, Philadelphia.� For ticket information, call UpStages Box Office at 215-569-9700.

Fox Chase Cancer Center, one of the nation's first comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute in 1974, conducts basic and clinical research; programs of prevention, detection and treatment of cancer; and community outreach.� For more information about Fox Chase activities, visit the Center's web site at:� www.fccc.edu.