By Daily Press staff
Friendship, the importance and power of angels, and fashions all held center stage at the annual John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary (JWCIA) Membership Luncheon and Fashion Show held recently.
Held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, JWCIA treasurer and CFO Donna Rosen presented John Wayne Cancer Institute Board Chairman Patrick Wayne with a ceremonial check in the amount of $620,000, representing the amount of funds the Auxiliary has given to the Institute throughout the past year.
Wayne presented Institute patient Peggy Maddox with the Auxiliary’s 2005 Ellen Cooperman “Angel” Award, which is given to a woman who has made a significant contribution as a role model to women. Diagnosed with melanoma in 1984 and given a 5 to 10 percent chance of surviving, Maddox found her way to the Institute. It was there that she became the first human to receive the experimental melanoma vaccine developed by Dr. Donald Morton, the Institute’s medical director and surgeon-in-chief. Now celebrating 20 years of recovery, Maddox accepted the award and gave thanks to all of the “angels” that have made a difference in her life, the first of whom had “a crew cut and red hair.” “Thank you, Dr. Morton,” said Maddox, “for saving my life.”
Based in Santa Monica, the John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary was founded in 1982 when two women who had been treated for breast cancer at the Institute pledged to help win the fight against the disease. Noreen Nelson and Sandy Cohen asked their friends to join their campaign, and from the original nucleus of 14 women, the Auxiliary has grown to more than 800 members. Proceeds raised at all Auxiliary events support the John Wayne Cancer Institute, one of the world’s foremost cancer research centers, providing funds for research projects, equipment and fellowships. Since its inception, the Auxiliary has raised more than $14 million.
In other news at the Institute: Helen Mabry, M.D., has been appointed assistant director of the Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Breast Center at John Wayne Cancer Institute. Dr. Mabry will collaborate with breast cancer pioneer Armando E. Giuliano, M.D., founder and director of the Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Breast Center, on current research involving sentinel lymph node biopsy, ductal carcinoma in situ and other novel treatments for breast cancer.
“We are pleased to introduce Dr. Mabry to our dedicated team of breast cancer experts,” said Dr. Giuliano. “I am confident that Dr. Mabry’s clinical and surgical excellence will have an immediate impact on the Joyce Eisenberg Breast Center and its commitment to improving the quality of life for breast cancer patients.”
Dr. Mabry studied breast disease at the University of Southern California and completed general surgery training at the University of South Florida. After attending Smith College for her undergraduate degree, she continued her studies at Bowling Green State University, where she received her master’s degree in chemistry. She then received her doctoral degree from Ohio State University.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 12, 2005. Read the original PDF.