CHARLOTTE -- When a tumor is removed from a patient at Carolinas Medical Center, it is immediately brought to the pathology lab.

"We rapidly assess whether there is enough tissue to do everything we need to do for a diagnosis and for treatment planning," explained pathologist Dr. Ben Calhoun.

But now, extra tissue will be dissected, frozen and later evaluated as part of a first-of-its-kind study to try and individualize cancer treatments. Cancers are often categorized by where they originate; lungs, breast, colon, however total cancer care will distinguish between each case.

"The way that this is described is personalized medicine,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kneisel, of the Blumenthal Cancer Center. “So this is really about your cancer, you're individual breast cancer or your individualized colon cancer or your individualized prostate cancer."

The Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida is conducting the research. To expand the database, thousands of samples are needed and that's why CMC is asking cancer patients to volunteer to be a part of this study.

The hope is by individualizing each cancer, specific treatments can be created. While this study and treatments created from it may not help these patients, it will save lives.

"There's no guarantee it's going to help them, and that's clear in the consenting process,” Kneisel said. “It's absolutely going to help people in the future."

Over the next five years, CMC will enroll more than 2,300 patients in the study. For more information, call (704) 355-6980.