The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City has announced a $20 million gift from local philanthropist and civic leader Annette Bloch to provide services for cancer patients.

Bloch said the funds had been earmarked by her late husband, H&R Block co-founder Richard Bloch, to assist cancer patients through the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation Fund at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. The hospital, which already has renamed the outpatient cancer area at its Westwood campus the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Care Pavilion, will use the gift to expand and strengthen services such as blood and marrow transplants, radiation oncology, and breast cancer imaging.

Longtime activists for improved cancer care, the Blochs established the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation in 1980. They also supported the creation of twenty-four cancer survivor parks in the United States and Canada and co-authored three books on cancer.

"I have been all over the country advocating for cancer patients, and there is something special about the hospital's services, this facility, and the people who work here," said Annette Bloch, who was treated for breast cancer at the facility. "It is wonderful that patients in Kansas City can receive quality cancer care in their own community. I have experienced their skill and compassion firsthand, and I wanted to give them the resources to do more through these incredible services."