Last week simply zoomed by. After a busy day of meetings on Monday, our External Advisory Committee (EAC) came into town, and we had a wonderful dinner that evening. The following day was devoted to the formal EAC meeting. After I provided an overview, the group reviewed our programs, shared resources and administrative components. It was a long, very productive day, and we received invaluable feedback. We have already begun acting on the EAC’s recommendations while we await their formal written feedback.
Now the real fun begins. We meet with NCI later this week for a formal pre-application meeting. Along with this, we are beginning to modify our write ups to reflect the EAC comments and suggestions, and intend to have high-quality second drafts done in the next couple of months. These drafts will be sent out to a separate group of ad hoc reviewers to assure we are getting broad and diverse feedback.
On Wednesday I left to be at the University of Wisconsin CCSG site visit. As I have mentioned earlier, simply reviewing the work done at Wisconsin was remarkably useful and informative. And, being at the site visit gave me a better sense of what reviewers look for when evaluating cancer centers, and how hard the reviewers work. The site visit ended on Friday morning, and two plane flights later I landed in Philadelphia, meeting Harriet, who had driven up earlier that day from DC.
We had dinner with our son Ken and his wife Sarah, and on Saturday I played golf with an old friend. I shot an 85 (very good for me), but my friend Michael trumped that by scoring a hole in one on a 183-yard par three hole. I have never had or witnessed a hole in one in person, so that was pretty neat.
Then we attended a surprise birthday party for a dear friend. Both she and her husband are cancer survivors – she received curative chemotherapy five years ago for a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and he underwent curative surgery for a malignant salivary gland tumor about 15 years ago. Both of them exemplify the progress that has been made in the field of oncology – and provide us with a reminder that two of every three Americans diagnosed with cancer now can expect to be cured. It was especially sweet to celebrate a big milestone with them.
Harriet and I will stay in Philadelphia though Monday to be with my father for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is customary to celebrate the Rosh Hashanah with apples and honey, as a symbol of hopes for a sweet year. That sounds like a wonderful thing to do, regardless of one’s religious beliefs!
Have a great week and a sweet year.