Sadly, I don’t have much work-related news to report this week. Last Friday, Harriet and I were called to her mother’s bedside in the Philadelphia suburbs as she was finally losing a lengthy and harshly debilitating battle with Parkinson’s disease. She died peacefully on Sunday evening, with the family at her bedside. It was terribly sad, of course, and leaves everyone who loved her with a painful sense of loss mixed with a sense of relief that her suffering has ended. She was a terrific person, and she will be missed.
I had been planning to travel to Chicago last Sunday afternoon for the American Association of Cancer Institutes (AACI) meeting from Sunday through Tuesday. I was especially interested in attending the meeting because I was just elected to the AACI’s Board of Directors, and was looking forward to contributing to its efforts. However, there will be other meetings in the future, and I am glad that I canceled my trip to be with Harriet, her mother and the rest of our family.
I also had been looking forward to the Capital Breast Care Center’s (CBCC’s) annual Gift of Life Breakfast on Thursday morning. This event broke all of its prior fundraising records; these proceeds will go a long way towards supporting the CBCC’s important efforts in the DC community. Congratulations to Beth Beck (CBCC executive director), Susannah Fox (CBCC development director, who coordinated the event) and Peter Shields, and thanks to the Michelle Cross Fenty, president of CBCC’s Advisory Council for her unstinting efforts on behalf of the CBCC, and for facilitating what I understand to have been a wonderful reception for major donors at the British Embassy last Monday evening.
Please also join me in congratulating Jeff Toretsky for receiving a substantial NCI Award using the RC4 ARRA funding mechanism. He received one of only two RC4 grants awarded by the NCI, and will use this support to accelerate the clinical development of an EWS-FLI1 inhibitor to treat Ewing’s sarcoma. Well done, Jeff!
As I write this message I am looking forward to the American Cancer Society Symposium on Friday, October 8 featuring young Lombardi investigators. I hope everyone has a good weekend and enjoys Columbus Day on Monday.