I drove by the farm-like land for years and years, watching horses from my car window on my way to class, to the university hospital, to other parts of town. I was first a college student, merely noting the vast property. And then I was a mom with two little boys and a definite interest in this acreage. I acquired a passion for this corner lot -- across from the Cancer Center that ten years later became a typical haunt -- and I often found myself driving, pointing, gesturing, shouting, "horses, horses, look at the horses."

There are not many horses left on this land. There is, however, one very large building with a very important sign announcing its presence on the University of Florida campus. The sign reads, Cancer and Genetics Research Complex -- and what a complex it is.

On November 15, officials dedicated this $84.5 million, 280,000 square-foot facility, promising the University of Florida will be at the forefront at cutting-edge cancer research.

A five-story cancer research wing and a six-story genetics research wing are just two of the multidisciplinary entities housed in this new complex, designed to maximize collaborations among researchers and to convert science into innovative cancer therapies and technologies.

"This building is bricks and mortar, but it's much more than that, because it really provides hope for cancer patients, who know that we're going to do the research, we're going to find the answers, we're going to help them," says the director of the UF Shands Cancer Center.

I am one of those cancer patients. And while I'm sad for the horses who lost their homes and my boys who can no longer admire these creatures, I am happy for the beacon of hope that sits prominently on the farm-like land I've been watching for years and years.