I hope everybody has settled back into their routines now that the holidays have ended. My week was shortened when I was felled by some flu-like upper respiratory infection that knocked me for a loop. However, we continue to make a lot of progress in program reorganization and I hope to send out more information in that regard in the next week or so.
I must say that the last week or two have been difficult for me for a reason unrelated to my temporary viral misery. Many of you who read the Cancer Letter may have noted that Gary Kruh, director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center died quite tragically about 10 days ago at the age of 59. Cancer Center directors are something of a band of brothers and sisters, and although we are competitive we really do pull for each other. So, from that perspective, Gary’s death was a sobering event. But, more than that, he was a real friend. I first met Gary about 20 years ago, when he moved to Fox Chase from Stu Aaronson’s lab at NCI, and established a lab across the hall from me.
Over the years, we became friends, and I was the beneficiary of his piercing intellect and thoughtful approach to scientific problems. I was an all-too frequent recipient of his incomparably awful yet funny jokes—and occasionally the target of some of them. Over the years, as our careers progressed, he moved to a larger space in an adjacent building, and I began to assume administrative responsibilities.
Through it all, we remained friends. He left Fox Chase to assume his position as director of a fledgling cancer center a few months before I moved to Lombardi, and we always tried to make time for a drink or a dinner together when we were in each other’s city. So, when I learned that he had suddenly collapsed in a supermarket due to intracranial bleeding, I was deeply shaken; a nationwide network of friends and colleagues instantaneously developed to provide information and support while we waited for the inevitable news of his death.
Life is a gift, not a right. I intend to honor Gary’s life and commitment to cancer research by always remembering that it is up to me to make my life count as much as possible—when I work, when I am with those I love, and when I am at play. I am sure that Gary would approve, as long as the ideas are big, the wine is good, the friends are genuine, and I finally decide to take up sailing. Rest easy, my friend.