Promise - Fall 2010

Fall 2010

A publication for friends of MD Anderson

Exploring patient-centered outcomes at the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence

The Value Proposition Artistic License

Exhibit reflects survivor’s desire to give back

From left, Randal S. Weber, M.D., chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Head and Neck Surgery; Rachel Tanner, R.N.; Ehab Hanna, M.D., medical director; and Charley Coffey, M.D., fellow, are part of a multidisciplinary effort to streamline processes and improve outcomes for head and neck cancer patients. Photo by John Everett

Measuring Value Institute Focuses on Outcomes, Delivery, Cost of Multidisciplinary Care

By Julie A. Penne

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here’s a new dimension of research under way at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The institution has long been at the forefront of cancer patient care and research, and now it is raising the bar on measuring the quality of how that care is delivered. It’s related to what is known in some academic circles as patient-centered outcomes research, and it complements the ongoing clinical, basic and prevention research programs for which MD Anderson is best known. Ultimately, this field of research will have a crucial role in the institution’s future as new therapies, advances in understanding the cancer process and new strategies for reducing risk come to light.

Leading the Way

The Institute for Cancer Care Excellence is developing a model for the next generation of a health care delivery system for cancer. It’s a comprehensive program focused on creating evidence-based systems that deliver safe, timely, effective, equitable and patient-centered care at a reasonable cost. This new field of research parallels MD Anderson’s clinical and research programs and demonstrates the institution’s commitment to report clinical outcomes, enhance patient safety and improve quality.

The institute is led by Thomas W. Burke, M.D., executive vice president and physician-

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Promise Fall 2010

in-chief; Thomas W. Feeley, M.D., vice president for medical operations and head of the Division of Anesthesiology and Critical Care; and Ronald S. Walters, M.D., associate vice president for medical operations and informatics, and is supported by philanthropic funds. MD Anderson’s $1 billion Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care has designated a goal of $25 million for the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence. The institute also is fueled by the involvement of clinical faculty and staff as well as nationally known collaborators such as Harvard Business School and Rice University.

“The Institute for Cancer Care Excellence applies traditional academic thinking to what’s important to patients, doctors and third-party payers now and in the future,” says Feeley.

“We all will have some very tough choices ahead with our health care system, and we have to start developing the data and show that we provide value with our approach to cancer care or demonstrate how we can provide better value. Value reflects the difficult balance between outcomes and cost.”

Translating just what value is and defining outcomes, especially with a disease as complicated as cancer, is tough, says Feeley, but not insurmountable.

“As with everything at MD Anderson, we look at these questions from the perspective of our patients and what’s most important to them,” he says.

Launched in 2009, the Institute for Cancer

Care Excellence reflects one of the 10 points in a recent brief by John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of MD Anderson, outlining actions required to continue the progress against cancer. It was Mendelsohn’s early interest in this research that led MD Anderson to team up with Harvard Business School’s Michael E. Porter, Ph.D., a leading authority on competitive strategy and its application to health care, the environment and other social issues.

The Harvard Connection

Porter’s book on value-based competition in health care pushed forward a national dialogue on the topic. He was first to define value in health care as the relationship between outcome and cost. With MD Anderson as a clinical “lab” to study Porter’s theories, the Cambridge-Houston team set out to answer the question of whether multidisciplinary care can improve value.

After teaming with Harvard Business School and other national collaborators, MD Anderson began asking its own questions related to value and, as with so many initiatives related to cancer, made the commitment to become a national leader.

Leveraging its unique position within one of the largest and premier cancer centers in the world, the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence corrals, coordinates and initiates projects that take advantage of not only the large patient population, but also clinical faculty looking for new efficiencies to help preserve the way they practice and administrative staff who want to safeguard the institution’s fiscal future and the margin that supports its mission.

The work of the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence also touches health care consumers who want the best quality and safest care.

Developing meaningful and useful outcomes and patient safety data will allow patients and

A publication for friends of MD Anderson

families the opportunity to select the best care by looking at detailed and substantive information on their particular diseases.

With the framework of health care reform in the United States now emerging, and its impact imminent, the work of the institute is even more vital, say its leaders.

Under health care reform, the Secretary of Health and Human Services must define outcomes by 2012 and cancer centers will be required to report those metrics by 2014, requirements that push health care institutions to be more transparent with

“Because of the tremendous impact that this research will have on the consumer, our efforts are integrated with those who negotiate our managed care contracts and Medicare, forecast our patient growth and plan long-range.”

— Thomas W. Burke, M.D., Executive Vice President and Physician-in-Chief

consumers, says Burke. All institutions, including MD Anderson, must comply with these mandates to be paid for care extended to patients covered by Medicare and other private third-party payers.

“Because of the tremendous impact that this research will have on the consumer, as well as the clinical operations and business sides of MD Anderson, our efforts are integrated with those who negotiate our managed care contracts and Medicare, forecast our patient growth and plan long-range,” says Burke. “The work that we’re doing through the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence touches almost every aspect of our daily work. We must come together to bring about some of the changes this research will identify.”

Jen Lowenstein of Atlanta sits on the board of advisers of the Take Aim at Cancer Research Fund at MD Anderson, (takeaimatcancer.org), established by lung cancer survivor Jeff Wigbels of Atlanta.

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t 38, I felt a small lump on my breast.

After a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy, it was determined that I had breast cancer. My first thought was to cut off everything, but thanks to my husband and a few hours to digest what I was just

MD Anderson’s Head and Neck Center is an example of one clinic that has begun to develop measurements and establish outcomes and definitions of quality. Randal S. Weber, M.D., the Department of Head and Neck Surgery chair, and Ehab Hanna, M.D., medical director — both of whom have lectured at Harvard Business School with Burke and Walters — have set outcome measures for patients with head and neck cancer through a pilot project that looked at patient survival, disease, the time it took patients to go through treatment and return to work, and quality of life issues such as speaking and swallowing ability and other lingering short-term or longterm complications. They’ve worked with the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence to pull and compare data from patient charts.

Results of the pilot project were presented at Porter’s health care executive series at Harvard Business School. To date, some 1,500 people have accessed the study and discussed the value of the multidisciplinary care model. The results have led to more streamlined, automated processes for patients, faculty and staff.

Value Proposition

Walters says it’s crucial that MD Anderson clinicians explore the value proposition of cancer care and get involved with the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence. In addition to the Head and Neck Center conducting its own research, there are projects under way for measuring clinical outcomes for breast, prostate, gynecologic and lung cancers, as well as sarcoma. Other clinics and supportive areas will begin projects in the near future.

“We need clinicians to be involved in the institute because it’s their work, their care, their patients,” says Walters. “All this data and information can lead to an informed patient who can make the right choice for value-based cancer care. We can be in a better position to protect our standard of care because we have the data to show that our approach is money well spent.”

told, we called MD Anderson. It was nice to know I wasn’t just a number. I talked to the staff and felt like a person, not just a patient. I realized I had a lot of options, and I used MD Anderson as my medium to help me sort them out. We made an educated decision, and today I’m cancer free with my original body parts, three happy children and a wonderful husband. When you find out you have cancer, you have to take a deep breath and know this is the worst day, and remember that as you go through the rest of the process, it will only get better from here.

Do you promise? Tell us why you’re committed to Making Cancer History®, as Jen Lowenstein did, by sending an e-mail to Promise@mdanderson.org.

Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistoryCampaign.com

A Message from

John Mendelsohn, M.D.

John Mendelsohn, M.D.

As the leading cancer center in the world, MD Anderson sets a global standard by addressing the entire cycle of cancer care in a robust infrastructure for research and testing. Providing a practical model to achieve cancer care excellence is a top priority for us. Thanks to your generosity, we are on our way. We have established MD Anderson’s Institute for Cancer Care Excellence, enabling researchers and clinicians to collaborate across disease sites and disciplines and focus on how to identify, evaluate and promote best practices of evidencebased cancer care. We envision a future when payment for medical outcomes replaces payment for medical tests and procedures. To that end, we must demonstrate measures that can result in increased quality, safety and effectiveness of cancer care delivery while lowering costs — in other words, we must provide measurable value for the patient. The Institute for Cancer Care Excellence already is studying head and neck cancer patients at MD Anderson to evaluate our multidisciplinary care model. These efforts are not possible without continued philanthropic support. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to our mission to eliminate cancer. Together, we are Making Cancer History®.

Promise

John Mendelsohn, M.D. PRESIDENT

Kellye B. Sanford DESIGNER

Patrick B. Mulvey VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT

Michelle Moore Julie Penne Victor Scott Contributing WriterS

Stephen C. Stuyck VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS Sarah Watson PROGRAM MANAGER, EDITOR DeDe DeStefano ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONS

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Development Office - Unit 705 P.O. Box 301439 Houston, TX 77230-1439 713-792-3450 800-525-5841 www.mdanderson.org/gifts Promise@mdanderson.org This publication was not printed at state expense.

On the cover: Detail from “Reeds Reflected,” oil on canvas

by Barbara Hines, who created a body of work for a Meredith Long & Co. sale benefiting MD Anderson and Aishel House. Story on page 9.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Hines

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The Power of the Third Party Ever wonder if a $25 donation to that fun run really makes a difference? When the beneficiary is MD Anderson, the answer is “yes.”

Bake sales, golf tournaments, motorcycle rides, art shows and other third party events across the nation are an important part of the institution’s philanthropy.

Multimillion-dollar contributions are rare, says Patrick B. Mulvey, vice president for development at MD Anderson. Most of MD Anderson’s donations don’t attract headlines, but every gift matters in the fight against cancer.

From a cumulative perspective, the money third party events raise is substantial.

During MD Anderson’s 2008-09 fiscal year, they generated more than $1.5 million.

Often these funds provide seed money for innovative research to find novel treatments for rare cancers that typically attract fewer federal research grants. Osteosarcoma, for example, is the most common bone tumor in children but is considered a rare childhood cancer and therefore fits in this underfunded category.

A number of third party events benefit osteosarcoma research at MD Anderson.

Among events already held in 2010 and those coming up are the Mike Doiron Legends of Friendswood Golf Tournament, the Jori Zemel Children’s Bone Cancer Foundation Party With a Purpose and Haynie Spirit Galveston SeaWalk.

Eugenie S. Kleinerman, M.D., head of MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, leads a team of researchers focused on pediatric osteosarcoma. She knows firsthand how critical funding from third party events can be.

“These fundraising events provide seed money so we can generate the preliminary data that will help secure NCI grants to support this research,” says Kleinerman.

Third party events hold yet another lasting benefit: the hope for a world without cancer, reflected on the faces of the participants.

Their inspiration offers a future of endless possibilities in the fight against cancer.

To learn about the logistics of hosting a third party event, contact the MD Anderson Development Office at 713-792-3450.

— Victor Scott Video: www.makingcancerhistorycampaign.com From left, tournament volunteer Missy Maxwell, MD Anderson patient Cody Paul, volunteer Sandy Shaw and Paul’s cousin Ryan King take a break at the Legends of Friendswood fundraiser.

Photo by Victor Scott

From left, Kayla Pacourek, Ellie Carlson, Maria Gonzales, Mackayla Reilley and Jamariea Dickenson follow their elders’ example and raise money for MD Anderson through an event of their creation, Emy’s Bake Sale. Below, Carlson shares her excitement over the first $166 raised. Photo courtesy of Lisa Carlson

Young Bakers Discover Sweet Rewards in Giving

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t’s known as “generational giving,” when one generation of a family is inspired to give by the philanthropic interests of another.

Such is the case with 11-year-old Ellie Carlson of Riverside, Ill. Ellie found inspiration in her grandmother, Beverly Parker of Dayton, Ohio. Each August, Beverly hosts the Robert A. Parker Olive Open Golf Tournament in memory of her husband, who was an MD Anderson patient.

“After Robert died of neuroendocrine carcinoma, my children came to me with the idea of having a golf tournament to honor their father,” explains Beverly. “They decided the money raised should support Robert’s physician at MD Anderson, Dr. James Yao, and his research on this type of cancer.”

While working by her grandmother’s side during the Olive Open each year, Ellie began to realize the importance of Beverly’s hard work and decided she wanted to raise money to support MD Anderson as well.

“I wanted to help out in some way,” says Ellie. “So my friends and I decided to have a bake sale.”

Ellie and her friend, Mackayla Reilley, used the first letters of their first names and named the fundraiser Emy’s Bake Sale. They baked and sold cupcakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls and brownies. They held two bake sales, one in the winter

and one in the spring, and raised $355.10 for MD Anderson.

Lisa Carlson, who is Ellie’s mom and Beverly’s daughter, says she’s so proud of her daughter and surprised that she thought of a bake sale on her own.

“My mother and I know how important it is to raise research dollars for MD Anderson,” says Lisa. “But we didn’t realize that Ellie had grown to understand this, too.”

While trying to decide where to donate the money she and her friends collected, Ellie heard about an annual snow ski trip for pediatric patients with MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital. The ski trip, sponsored by the Children’s Art Project, is part of a unique effort to help pediatric patients create a positive self-image.

As a young lady who loves to spend time on the ski slopes, Ellie knew right away where she wanted to direct her philanthropic support: helping kids have fun.

“And I hope someday when I have children,” adds Ellie, “I can teach them how important it is to give to something that helps other people.”

— Victor Scott

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Promise FALL 2010

A publication for friends of MD Anderson

Philanthropy

in Act ion

Team Sarcoma Spins Worldwide Impact

AudubonCARES co-chairs Joyce Sauer, left, and Bill Weidenfeller channel “Grease” as they sing and dance at the neighborhood talent show, Audubon’s Got Talent. Photo courtesy of AudubonCARES

Audubon Country Club Members Show Cancer Patients They Care

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ventriloquist, a lawn-chair drill team, Sonny and Cher impersonators and a Blues Brothers act. These are just a few of the offbeat and touching performances that helped a grassroots effort at Audubon Country Club in Naples, Fla., raise $60,000 this past spring for cancer research at MD Anderson.

The setting was Audubon’s Got Talent, a neighborhood talent show, auction and dinner held in March and April at the Naples golf course community. AudubonCARES, an organization dedicated to raising funds for cancer research, chose MD Anderson as sole beneficiary of its annual fundraising effort.

“Several Audubon cancer patients have been involved with research trials and treatment at MD Anderson,” says Bill Weidenfeller, co-chair. “That’s why the focus on cancer research became the goal of our campaign this year.”

More than 250 people attended, and their support, says Weidenfeller, was overwhelming, making 2010 the most successful campaign to date.

“Many members have expressed the opinion that the 2010 AudubonCARES events were the best ever held at Audubon, mainly because they brought together a community in the spirit of giving, while simultaneously presenting a variety of entertaining and funfilled acts from among our club membership,” says Weidenfeller. “It was so close that a winner could not be selected. All three finalists were declared winners, with MD Anderson’s patients the big winners in the minds and hearts of all.”

During the past nine years AudubonCARES

“All three finalists were declared winners, with MD Anderson’s patients the big winners in the minds and hearts of all.”

— Bill Weidenfeller

has donated more than $813,000 to cancer research and other cancer-related services. It is a small but dedicated group of caring people who embody the “spirit of giving” in a big way.

“The spark was ignited when 19 college sorority sisters gathered in Naples to celebrate their 60th birthdays,” says Weidenfeller. “They had chosen Naples in part because my wife, Betty Weidenfeller, a Tri-Delta sister and Audubon Country Club member, was in the late stages of breast cancer. The sisters formed a team for the local American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event, raised some donations, walked with Betty and cheered her on as she walked the Survivors Lap with other members of the Audubon community.”

Weidenfeller’s wife died in 2002, and AudubonCARES co-chair Joyce Sauer lost her husband to cancer in 2007.

“My wife and I spent one week in 2002 at MD Anderson to assess her treatment options,” says Weidenfeller. “I was totally impressed by the caregiving, the expertise and professionalism of the medical staff. Many Audubon friends have undergone or are currently undergoing treatment at MD Anderson.”

Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistoryCampaign.com

— Michelle Moore

In 2003, as 36-year-old Liddy Shriver of New Jersey reached the end stages of Ewing’s sarcoma, she decided to fill the time she had left with things she had never done before. On her wish list was a multiday bike ride to raise awareness of sarcoma and to help families facing the disease. She leaves a lasting impression in the hearts of many through the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative and its Team Sarcoma that raises awareness and generates funds to support sarcoma research, clinical trials and patient and family services.

MD Anderson investigators have received five research grants totaling $250,000, most recently to Wei Zhang, Ph.D., professor of pathology at MD Anderson, and Jilong Yang, M.D., Ph.D., who completed his postdoctoral training at MD Anderson and returned to Tianjin Cancer Hospital in China. Their lab research project focuses on the malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, a soft-tissue sarcoma in cells that form a protective sheath around peripheral nerves, or those outside of the central nervous system.

The initiative started seven years ago with Liddy and six other people.

“We had jerseys made, and we biked for four days, 50 miles each day, covering 200 miles in all. We raised $14,000 for sarcoma research,” says Bruce Shriver, who along with his wife, Beverly, started the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative in their daughter’s honor.

Today the Team Sarcoma Initiative is a coordinated set of events to raise money and awareness that culminates in International Sarcoma Awareness Week. It has grown to more than 21,000 participants who raised more than $640,000 this past July.

“We’ve held 85 events in 14 countries including Portugal, China, Denmark, Mexico, Poland and Japan. Each year the efforts grow significantly along with the contacts around the world,” says Shriver.

— Michelle Moore

Bruce Shriver, from left, poses with daughter Liddy and wife Beverly before beginning the Cycle Zydeco Bike Tour, their first bike ride together as Team Sarcoma. Photo courtesy of Bruce and Beverly Shriver

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RESEARCHHIGHLIGHTS SUMO Works With Replication Protein A Complex to Repair DNA Investigators led by an MD Anderson physician-scientist have shown that the protein SUMO can team up with RPA70, a component of the replication protein A (RPA) complex, to facilitate DNA repair.

The chemotherapy drug camptothecin and ionizing radiation both attack cancer cells by causing doublestrand DNA breaks.

Cells respond by Edward T.H. activating homologous Yeh, M.D. recombination to repair the damage. The newly discovered connection offers a potential target for short-circuiting repair.

“If a mutant protein that cannot be modified by SUMO is substituted for RPA70, the cells are much more sensitive to chemotherapy and ionized radiation,” says corresponding author Edward T.H. Yeh, M.D., professor and chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Cardiology.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health.

Study Ties Abnormal Cells in Blood to Lung Cancer A research team led by MD Anderson scientists has discovered a novel way to detect genetically abnormal cells in the blood of non-small cell lung cancer patients that match abnormalities found in tumor cells and increase in number with severity of the disease.

Investigators conducted what they believe to be the first study to use a technique called Ruth Katz, M.D. fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to detect abnormal circulating cells that have aberrations found in non-small cell lung cancer.

FISH detects and quantifies abnormal cells by using dye-labeled DNA probes of cell chromosomes that cause cells with the targeted genetic abnormalities to light up.

“We suspect additional research will show that these circulating abnormal cells are circulating non-small cell lung cancer cells,” says study corresponding author Ruth Katz, M.D., professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Pathology.

“Blood tests for these circulating tumor cells could be used to diagnose lung cancer earlier, monitor response to therapy and detect residual disease in patients after treatment.”

This research was funded by grants and a fellowship from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), by MD Anderson’s NCI Lung Cancer SPORE (Specialized Programs of Research Excellence) grant and by a grant from AstraZeneca.

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Promise Fall 2010

For complete news releases about these studies, please visit MD Anderson’s online newsroom at www.mdanderson.org/newsroom.

Anil Sood, M.D., directs the Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program at MD Anderson. Photo by F. Carter Smith

Study shows EZH2 Boosts Creation of Ovarian Cancer Blood Vessels

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cientists at MD Anderson are conducting a study using siRNA-loaded nanoparticles to stifle EZH2, a member of a group of proteins known to repress gene expression associated with poor survival rates in cancer patients.

The protein also has been associated with the progression and spread of ovarian cancer as well as numerous other cancers, including bladder, breast, prostate, gastric and one type of cancer of the pharynx.

“We’ve discovered that EZH2 promotes tumor growth by shutting down genes that block formation of new blood vessels,” says study senior author Anil Sood, M.D., professor of gynecologic oncology and cancer biology and director of the Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program at

MD Anderson. “Tumors treated with current anti-angiogenesis drugs eventually progress.

This study presents a new mechanism for angiogenesis that opens the door for development of new treatment approaches.”

The study was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Inc., the U.S. Department of Defense, the Zarrow Foundation, the Marcus Foundation, the Betty Anne Asche Murray Distinguished Professorship, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation/OCRF Ann Schreiber Ovarian Cancer Research grant, the Meyer and Ida Gordon Foundation, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, the GCF-Molly Cade Ovarian Cancer Research Grant and the Taiwan National Science Council.

Study Addresses Breast Cancer Guidelines Needed for Mexican-origin Women in U.S.

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pecific prevention and education strategies are needed to address breast cancer in Mexican-origin women in this country, according to an MD Anderson study published online in the journal Cancer.

Among the Mexican-origin women with breast cancer surveyed, half were diagnosed before age 50, years earlier than the national average for non-Hispanic white women. This puts them outside U.S. Preventive Task Force guidelines that recommend screening begin at 50 for the general population. MD Anderson recommends screening beginning at age 40.

“Under the revised Task Force guidelines, up to half of Mexican-origin women with breast cancer may be undiagnosed

or diagnosed in late stages,” says Patricia Miranda, Ph.D., a Kellogg Health Scholar post-doctoral fellow in the Center for Research on Minority Health in the Department of Health Disparities Research at MD Anderson and the study’s lead author.

The research was supported in part by the Kellogg Health Scholars Program, the National Cancer Institute, the Caroline W. Law Fund for Cancer Prevention, the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and funds collected in the Comprehensive Tobacco Settlement of 1998 and appropriated by the 76th legislature to MD Anderson.

A publication for friends of MD Anderson

AmongFriends

Kiosks Recognize Generous Donors

Nancy MONCRIEF

Three Times a Survivor N

ancy Moncrief of Houston has been a patient at MD Anderson since 1963, beginning at age 12 with her first of three cancer diagnoses.

“When I was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in the seventh grade, my doctors at MD Anderson scheduled my appointments at 3:30 in the afternoon so that I could attend school regularly,” says Moncrief. “When it came to placing the radiation markers, instead of drawing lines they would draw little dots so that no one could really see them. They did this so that I wouldn’t look different from other kids. I told my pediatric oncologist, Dr. Margaret Sullivan, that I didn’t want to see different doctors. She promised me that she would see me every time, and she did.”

In 1976, at 25, shortly after her wedding, Moncrief had her thyroid removed after a routine visit to the gynecologist revealed thyroid cancer. Eighteen years later, at 42, she found a lump in her breast. It was indeed breast cancer — the hardest diagnosis, she says, because she was a mother of four by this time, and her youngest was only 9 years old.

She didn’t want to leave her children.

Moncrief says she wouldn’t be here if not for MD Anderson. “In the 47 years I’ve been going there, everyone has been so special, and I don’t know how they do this every day,” she says. “I know they’re not just kind to me, it’s everyone.

They’re nice, caring and very loving.”

Moncrief has been in residential real estate for 35 years. She makes time to be an active advocate for cancer awareness and has volunteered for MD Anderson in a number of ways. She has handled RSVPs for many of the institution’s fundraising events, including Marvin’s Million Dollar Dream, a 1996 celebration of broadcast journalist Marvin Zindler’s 75th birthday that netted $1.3 million for breast and prostate cancer research.

Nancy Moncrief is grateful for the simple things in life, such as spending quality time reading books to her 7-month-old granddaughter, Elizabeth Anne Moncrief. Photo by Gini Reed

“My husband died from esophageal cancer two years ago,” Moncrief says. “I know the importance of cancer awareness. You have to take the bull by the horns and get proactive.

I’ve always been able to contact my doctors at MD Anderson when someone calls me with a fear that they might have cancer or have been recently diagnosed with cancer.

I even spoke at an event, and I remember it being kind of overwhelming. I brought pictures of my children, my four boys and my granddaughter. I feel like the luckiest person in the world, and I don’t think it’s uncommon to hear a cancer survivor say that.”

Moncrief is an advocate for MD Anderson’s research and prevention programs as well.

“I love MD Anderson. If there is ever a need there, I’m certainly happy to do whatever I can. The doctors are committed, and they’re there for you, and I thank God that they are,” she says. “There’s a reason that MD Anderson is No. 1, and it starts with the people. I feel lucky that I had MD Anderson, not once, not twice, but three times in my life.”

Survivors Say

— Michelle Moore

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orld War II veteran Wayne Bray of La Marque, Texas, served in the U.S. Air Force. He is retired from International Motor Corporation, where he served as president from 1986 to 1987, and has been active in Scottish Rite Freemasonry and Shriners International.

Video: www.makingcancerhistorycampaign.com Photo by Victor Scott

Cancer has touched me and my siblings.

My brothers had prostate cancer and my

Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistoryCampaign.com

Launched in mid-October 2009 as a project of MD Anderson’s Development Office, three donor recognition kiosks have attracted more than 92,500 visitors in their first year of operation at the institution. The standalone stations are designed primarily to recognize the generosity of those who donate their time, energy and financial resources to MD Anderson. Recognition categories include the nine giving levels of the Annual Fund, the Anderson Assembly, the Monroe Dunaway Anderson Society, the Advance Team, The University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors and creators of endowed positions. The kiosks are located at MD Anderson’s Albert B. and Margaret M. Alkek Hospital, second floor near Kim’s Place; the Lowry and Peggy Mays Clinic, second floor next to the aquarium across from the Blood Donor Center; and the South Campus Research Building II, cafeteria entrance.

— Sarah Watson

Linda and Simon Eyles of Houston learn about MD Anderson’s history, philanthropy and more during a recent visit to a donor recognition kiosk at Alkek Hospital.

Photo by Gini Reed

sister had breast cancer. All of my brothers, along with one of my uncles, were treated at MD Anderson at the same time and under the same doctor. I’m elated that I had an opportunity to come to the institution for my own prostate cancer treatment. It’s the best cancer hospital in the world. When I was growing up, if we had more than we needed, we gave it away. I can’t give millions, but it all adds up, and I’m excited to be a part of that.

I’ve been a contributor for several years, and I’ll continue to be for as long as I live.

Promise invites cancer survivors to share their reflections. E-mail Promise@ mdanderson.org.

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Donors

Make a Difference

Patient Lives on Through Gift to Help Others With Rare Ovarian Cancer

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n MD Anderson patient who died in July 2009 of ovarian cancer at age 40, Sara Brown Musselman embodied the phrase “live life to the fullest.” Her legacy is a $1.5 million endowment she established to support low-grade serous ovarian cancer research under the direction of David M. Gershenson, M.D., chair of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at MD Anderson.

With no family history of cancer, Musselman, a native of Louisville, Ky., was diagnosed at age 23. Still, she believed in hope and embraced her dreams, says her mother, Ina Bond of Kentucky. She started a photography business in California and was a singer, a chef, an artist and a nature lover.

Most of all, Musselman loved people. Her friendships gave her strength through the challenges of cancer and helped in her quest to further the philanthropic efforts she initiated.

“She was interested in securing more research funding for low-grade serous ovarian cancer, which is rare and extremely underfunded,” says Bond, who combined the money her daughter left in her will with $37,000 in memorial gifts to establish the Sara Brown Musselman Fund for Serous Ovarian Cancer Research at MD Anderson.

“Low-grade serous ovarian cancer tends to strike young women, and chemotherapy doesn’t achieve the same response as with other cancers,” says Bond. “I hope this money

With a smile Ina Bond, left, embraces her daughter, Sara Brown Musselman.

Bond holds onto beautiful memories of her daughter and continues in her philanthropic footsteps by overseeing the Sara Brown Musselman Fund for Serous Ovarian Cancer Research established

by Sara.

Photo by Kris Timken

will find new ways to attack the disease.”

Bond credits the institution with extending Musselman’s life by changing her treatment path after she was misdiagnosed before seeking treatment at MD Anderson.

“She would be pleased to know the institution will use this money to try to improve the lives of young women with this disease,” she says. “Hopefully we can find ways to add to the fund and bring better awareness around the world.”

Bond refers to her daughter’s doctors, Gershenson and J. Taylor Wharton, M.D., who is now retired from MD Anderson, as “superheroes saving lives and giving hope.”

Gershenson believes Musselman’s

contribution will give other women the opportunity for a better outcome and quality of life during treatment.

“Most of the funds will go toward confirming our lab-based studies and mapping pathways and genes in these tumors,” says Gershenson.

“Some of these funds also will go toward building awareness by making both the physicians and allied health professionals aware of these rare types of ovarian cancers, as well as the public, so that women who are diagnosed with these cancers can seek out a specialist who really understands the biology and treatment of these rare tumors.”

— Michelle Moore Video: www.makingcancerhistorycampaign.com

Survivor Crafts Message of Hope Through Endowment, Planned Giving

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s Maggie Ryden Parker of Houston graciously pours a cup of tea and sets a plate of cookies on the table, she begins her story from the top. A wife, mother, cancer survivor and philanthropist, at 82, Parker is a beacon of light, despite the many times cancer has touched her life.

Her 18-year-old son succumbed to cancer, as well as both her parents and her first husband.

Parker recalls the days leading up to her son’s diagnosis of osteosarcoma in January 1975.

“Alan was a nationally ranked swimmer and was about to finish high school when he started to complain of a ‘gimpy’ left knee,” says Parker.

An orthopedist prescribed surgery, but three months later the knee had failed to heal.

“By then, Alan was on crutches,” says Parker.

“We went for a second opinion, and that doctor’s words are seared into my brain: ‘Your son has a fast-growing tumor on his leg.’ ” At 8 a.m. the following Monday, Alan

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and his parents were at MD Anderson. Tests confirmed the diagnosis.

“There followed aggressive chemotherapy, accompanied by loving and empathetic care,” says Parker. “The cancer prevailed, however, and in October of that year Alan died.”

Parker’s relationship with MD Anderson became even more personal with her own diagnosis in 2001.

It was during this period, Parker recalls, that she began to ponder in what specific ways her life had made, or might make, a positive impact on the lives of others and, specifically, what she might do to make such an impact. It was also at about this same time that she began to pay more attention to the many advances in cancer research at MD Anderson.

This growing awareness led her to rewrite her will and set up her IRA to be divided three ways among her alma mater, her church and MD Anderson. In memory of her son, she established the Alan Ryden Endowment for

Maggie Parker enjoys a moment tending to her butterfly garden. Photo by John Everett

Pediatric Osteosarcoma Research at MD Anderson with a $35,000 initial contribution in 2009.

“I hope in some small way to help those who might be diagnosed with cancer now, and in the long run to give hope and optimism to cancer patients in the future,” says Parker.

— Michelle Moore

Read more about planned giving at www.mdanderson.planyourlegacy.org.

A publication for friends of MD Anderson

Goldstein Foundation Funds Odyssey Fellow

From left, Anne and John Mendelsohn celebrate Barbara Hines’ successful show at Meredith Long & Co. benefiting MD Anderson and Aishel House. Photo by Fulton Davenport

Art, Integrative Medicine Converge Through Debut Sale at Houston Gallery

A

s Barbara Hines describes her art, her longtime support of MD Anderson and her exhibition at Meredith Long & Co. in Houston benefiting the institution’s integrative medicine program, she uses the word “confluence” again and again. There’s the confluence of Hunter Creek and the Roaring Fork River, where the idea for the show was conceived at the Aspen, Colo., home she shares with her husband, Gerald D. Hines. She speaks of the confluence of “all the talents and disciplines” at MD Anderson, enabling cancer patients to benefit from conventional and complementary therapies to manage symptoms, increase quality of life and improve treatment outcomes. She’s moved by the confluence of ephemeral joy and ordinary life that inspires her to capture the moment on canvas. And she notes her “Confluence” series, which she created for the exhibition using bold brush strokes, layer upon layer of paint and abstract imagery to visually convey all of the above.

Hines, who studied at the New York School of Design and the Pratt Institute, welcomed the opportunity to contribute approximately $125,000 from the December 2009 sale to a program dear to her heart. Hines is a founder of the Aspen Center for Integrative Health, and she and her husband have long practiced the principles of integrative medicine.

Although Hines’ work hangs in private collections in the United States, Europe and Australia, the gallery event marked her first solo exhibition and her first body of work produced for sale.

“It felt good to raise this money through something I created myself,” says Hines, a breast cancer survivor who sought treatment at MD Anderson after a routine mammogram led to her 2006 diagnosis.

The Hineses host a garden party in Aspen each July in conjunction with MD Anderson’s annual seminar at the

“Confluence” by Barbara Hines.

Aspen Institute. Each year Hines provides one of her paintings as a backdrop for the podium where John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of MD Anderson, typically addresses 250-plus guests. Two years ago, a landscape caught the eye of Cornelia Long, wife of gallery owner Meredith Long. She suggested her husband have a closer look. Long returned the next week to offer Hines a show at his Houston gallery.

“He said he would need 16 to 20 paintings,” says Hines. “I took a big gulp and got to work. I was very honored that he would even consider me.”

As promised, Hines followed through, producing 37 paintings, mostly Aspen landscapes.

Hines also contributed proceeds to Aishel House, a nonprofit organization that supports patients in the Texas Medical Center and their families, offering transportation, meals, accommodations, child care assistance and counseling.

Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistoryCampaign.com

— Sarah Watson

Odyssey Program Fellow Lara Kingeter, Ph.D., is on a mission. Her goal is to determine if blocking signaling from a particular cellular receptor will help reduce the severity of mucositis, a complication of some cancer therapies in which the lining of the digestive system becomes inflamed. She hopes that if the condition is treated effectively, patients can enjoy better quality of life. Thanks to a generous gift of $60,000 from the Pauline Altman-Goldstein Foundation, she’s on her way.

“The foundation was established in 2006 to support education by funding scholarships,” says Betsy Goldstein, director, who sits on the board with her three children. Goldstein’s mother, Pauline Altman, set aside money in her will to form the foundation. “Although we don’t have a personal connection to cancer, we know many who have been treated at MD Anderson.

We wanted to give some funding for medical research, so we chose to give there.”

The Odyssey Program sponsors innovative research of promising young scientists, postdoctoral fellows at the beginning stages of their careers. The program is funded through the Scientific Achievement Fund endowment and Odyssey Program major-gift donors such as the Goldstein Foundation.

Kingeter is the first Odyssey Fellow to receive funds from the Goldstein Foundation.

Kingeter works on her postdoctoral research under the mentorship of Xin Lin, Ph.D., a professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology.

“Mucositis affects many patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments, and the symptoms involve their digestive tract,” says Kingeter. “It’s a difficult condition to deal with. Patients may have to stop chemotherapy or radiation treatments until they’ve recovered.”

Kingeter says she can’t overstate her gratitude to the Goldstein Foundation.

“Their generosity allows me to focus on my research without the pressure to secure funding for my projects and myself,” she says. “In short, they’re helping me launch my scientific career.”

“I’m excited to know that we’re helping cancer research,” says Goldstein. “Anything we can do to further the goal of eradicating cancer is a wonderful thing.”

— Michelle Moore

Matchmakers Employee matching gift programs can double and even triple year-end tax deductible gifts to MD Anderson. Learn about matching gifts at www.mdanderson. org/match. Look for employers that offer matching gift policies at www.matchinggifts. com/mdanderson.

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NewsMakers

Please visit MD Anderson’s online newsroom at www.mdanderson.org/newsroom.

Ross Perot Commits $20 Million to MD Anderson D allas businessman and philanthropist H. Ross Perot has donated $20 million to MD Anderson for research to advance and design novel targeted therapies. The funds will be divided equally between two new initiatives: the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy (IPCT) and the Center for Targeted Therapy (CTT).

Perot’s contributions to these two critical and interconnected areas will have a significant impact on the future of cancer care by accelerating efforts to analyze genetic blueprints, pinpoint molecular biomarkers, develop targeted anti-cancer drugs and test new drugs in clinical trials, says John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of MD Anderson.

“We are grateful to Ross Perot for his generous support in these extremely important areas of cancer research. With the completion of the mapping of the human genome, progress toward individualized cancer treatment has escalated, and now is a very exciting time to support the work being done in these areas,” says Mendelsohn. “These funds will help our clinicians and researchers advance the translation of science into new and improved cancer treatments. Ultimately, our goal is to make personalized cancer therapy the gold standard in oncology care.”

The IPCT encompasses all of the clinical divisions and departments that participate in MD Anderson’s highly successful multidisciplinary care centers. Its collaborative

H. Ross Perot is investing in MD Anderson’s efforts to make personalized cancer therapy a reality. Photo courtesy of H. Ross Perot

environment is central to the institution’s efforts to match patients to the most effective treatments. Discoveries fostered by the IPCT will help physicians determine the specific genetic and molecular abnormalities in each patient’s cancer and, in turn, prescribe the appropriate therapy. The IPCT is led by co-director Stanley Hamilton, M.D., head of the Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

The CTT, one of seven unique centers in the Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer at MD Anderson, enables researchers and clinicians to coordinate all stages of the drug

T

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Promise FAll 2010

— Sarah Watson

Children navigate the traffic at a June ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Little Galleria. After only a few months of operation, the play area has become a popular attraction.

Plans include a family lounge area and an art gallery featuring artwork from the MD Anderson Children’s Art Project.

Little Galleria Is a Big Amenity for Families hanks to a partnership between MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital and the Simon Property Group Inc., owners of the Houston Galleria®, a trip to the mall with a toddler in tow may be less a challenge with the opening of the Little Galleria play area.

At this indoor playground designed to provide a safe and fun place for children to play while at the Galleria, the smallest child is a giant. The play area includes miniature versions of landmark Galleria retail stores such as Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. It even includes a miniature version of the iconic Williams Tower. Made from a specially molded, anti-bacterial foam material, the buildings are meant for climbing, jumping and other activities. The play area also features a soft, path-based floor that represents Uptown Houston with street names such as Westheimer and Post Oak. In 2007, during a chance meeting between representatives from the Simon Group and MD Anderson at the inaugural Houston Santa’s Elves Party, which raises funds for

discovery and development process. Anchored by the institution’s Department of Experimental Therapeutics, the CTT is designed to speed the delivery of new, more effective and less toxic targeted drug therapies from the research bench to the clinic so that patients can benefit more quickly from personalized cancer medicine.

The CTT is under the direction of Garth Powis, D.Phil., an internationally renowned cancer pharmacologist and a pioneer in the development of molecularly targeted cancer drugs.

Perot, a native Texan who founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962 and Perot Systems in 1988, is a longtime supporter of MD Anderson. In 2004, he established the Norman Brinker Award for Research Excellence at MD Anderson.

“I’m honored to be associated with the premier cancer center in the world and to help the outstanding physicians and scientists there take advantage of unprecedented opportunities to dramatically change the diagnosis and treatment of cancer,” says Perot of his most recent philanthropy.

“MD Anderson researchers already have made great strides, but there’s much more work to be done. I’m proud to support their transformational research over the next decade and to play a small role in making personalized cancer therapy a reality.

I can’t think of a better potential return on investment.”

Photo by Victor Scott

MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, the idea arose for the co-sponsorship of a play area in the Galleria. The proposal seemed an ideal opportunity to help increase visitors to the Galleria, while promoting the children’s hospital and the care and support it offers pediatric cancer patients and their families.

“We’re not only interested in treating children with cancer, but also preventing cancer in children when they get older,” says Eugenie S. Kleinerman, M.D., head of MD Anderson’s Division of Pediatrics.

Kleinerman adds that avoiding sun

exposure and teaching good exercise habits can help reduce the risk of cancer as an adult.

The Little Galleria play area provides a fun way to teach both concepts to children.

“I was thrilled when I first heard about it,” says Ashley Loeffler, a mother of three and a member of the MD Anderson Advance Team, an advisory board that promotes the Children’s Cancer Hospital. “I come to the Galleria often with my children. Now we have a place where they can play and relax while we’re here.”

— Victor Scott Video: www.makingcancerhistorycampaign.com

A publication for friends of MD Anderson

Symposiums and Soirees It was a picture-perfect August evening as approximately 100 guests mingled amid roses and hydrangeas at the Nantucket summer home of Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, an MD Anderson Board of Visitors (BOV) member. The Tudors, along with Roxanne and S. Ward (Trip) Casscells, hosted the gathering Aug. 7 as well as MD Anderson’s Making Cancer History® educational symposium Aug. 6 at the Westmoor Club. Following the symposium, guests enjoyed a reception hosted by BOV member Maureen Hackett. The evening brought to a close a series of educational events beginning with a grand rounds-style meeting hosted by Nantucket Cottage Hospital, so its physicians and MD Anderson faculty could exchange ideas and best practices. In the afternoon, the group moved to the Great Hall at the Westmoor Club, where they presented an educational symposium to the public on the latest in cancer research and patient care programs.

The events in Nantucket followed similar BOV-hosted events in Aspen in July, when Barbara and Gerald Hines hosted a reception for MD Anderson supporters prior to the Making Cancer History® symposium at the Aspen Institute.

— DeDe DeStefano

Above: Guests mingle at an outdoor reception the day after an MD Anderson educational symposium in Nantucket. Right: John and Anne Mendelsohn, center, join hosts, from left, Bobby and Phoebe Tudor and Trip and Roxanne Casscells at the Tudors’ Nantucket summer home. Photo by Jordi Cabré

Game, Set, Match: MD Anderson Aces the US Open M aking Cancer History® took center court at the 2010 US Open as MD Anderson sponsored Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, the official kickoff event of the two-week championship tennis tournament.

During a day of record attendance at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., children of all ages had a chance to participate in activities promoting the game and mingle with professional players.

Throughout the morning on Court 12, hundreds of children competed against USTA players during MD Anderson’s Beat the Pro event. Sixteen-year-olds Wade Dillenbeck of Schulenburg, Texas, and Austin Sheppard of Katy, Texas, both patients at MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, showed off their tennis skills on the court against USTA player Shelby Rogers.

“It was awesome,” said Rogers, courtside after the event. “They had a great attitude.

They were moving me all around the

Young MD Anderson supporters sporting lime green T-shirts enjoy a sunny Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day and a full schedule of activities kicking off the 2010 US Open tennis tournament in Flushing, N.Y. Photo by Victor Scott

court. I had to bring my ‘A’ game today.”

As the morning’s activities wrapped up, it was time to head to the main Arthur Ashe Stadium for a concert featuring world-famous musical talent including the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and David Archuleta.

After the final song faded, some of the world’s top tennis players hit center court for the MD Anderson Performance Challenge.

Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistoryCampaign.com

Dillenbeck and Sheppard had on-court seats as tennis pros Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Kim Clijsters and wheelchair champion Esther Vergeer took turns at targets on the court, branded with the MD Anderson logo, to raise money for various charities. They also raised $15,000 for MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital.

MD Anderson’s new logo was visible throughout the US Open facility the entire day. It was easy to spot either on the lime green T-shirts worn by MD Anderson supporters or on the signs displayed throughout the complex.

A 90-minute television program created from the Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day activities aired on CBS Sports the following day.

“Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day was a smashing success this year,” said Harlan Stone, chief marketing officer of the USTA. “We thank MD Anderson for the work they do to eliminate cancer.”

— Victor Scott

Video: www.makingcancerhistorycampaign.com

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A publication for friends of MD Anderson