In the early 1970’s, a local health services planning committee, organized under the requirements of the federal Hill-Burton Hospital Construction Program, determined that Central Texas lacked the radiation therapy services necessary for effective cancer treatment.

Under the leadership of former Texas Governor Alan Shivers, the Capital Area Radiation and Research Foundation (CARRF) was formed.  Hill-Burton funds were awared; and a non-profit, open-staff radiation therapy center was constructed on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Austin, Texas.  The radiation center operated successfully and expanded to a second location within the Seton Northwest Hospital complex.  For approximately 20 years, it was essentially the sole provider of radiation therapy services in Central Texas.

By the mid-1990’s, the economics of medical care had changed significantly.  Clinical providers were providing a broader spectrum of cancer services using private facilities, and the requirements of third-party insurers were increasing.  The open-staff CARRF center was no longer financially viable.

In response to the change in clinical and economic conditions, CARRF sold the operations and assets of the radiation therapy center to the Seton Family of Hospitals, and the proceeds from the sale were conveyed to the newly-formed Shivers Cancer Foundation.  The CARRF Board of Directors succeeded to the Board of Directors of the Shivers Cancer Foundation.  In consonance with its Mission Statement, Shivers Cancer Foundation has awarded 53 grants totaling nearly $6.5 million during the period January 1996 through December 2010.