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| Vol. 23, No. 19 |
| October 15, 2001 |
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M.D. Anderson Turns 60 By DANNI SABOTA The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center In black tie fashion, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center will mark six decades of making cancer history with an anniversary gala Nov. l on the baseball diamond of Enron Field. "This anniversary event will be an opportunity to commemorate 60 years of advancements in the science of cancer, and to rededicate ourselves to the promise of life-saving discoveries just ahead," says Dr. John Mendelsohn, M.D. Anderson president. "The spirit of the evening and the entire anniversary year will salute our faculty, staff, donors and volunteers. The energy and ingenuity of our people have made M.D. Anderson the world's leading cancer center." In a period of significant growth, M.D. Anderson and its supporters have a lot to celebrate, both past and future. Former President and first lady, George and Barbara Bush are lending excitement to the fund-raising festivities, serving as honorary event co-chairs and ushering in the former President's two-year term as chairman of M.D. Anderson's Board of Visitors, which began in September. Houston Board of Visitors member Pete Coneway, with his wife, Lynn, and Bill and Marie Wise, who is also a Houston M.D. Anderson Board member, will co-chair the anniversary affair. At the Enron Field gala - with its historic Union Station connection - partygoers will venture back to a spot in Houston's history not far from where M.D. Anderson first planted its roots at the old James A. Baker estate, "The Oaks," located at Baldwin and Bagby Streets. Like Houston and the neighborhood around Enron Field, M.D. Anderson has changed and made a great impact. In 1941, the original M.D. Anderson was a modest endeavor. The property housed an outpatient clinic in surplus Army barracks and a research facility that had been fashioned out of the carriage house. Today, M.D. Anderson facilities in Houston and Central Texas (Smithville and Bastrop) total more than 5 million square feet, and nearly 500,000 patients have received care over the last 60 years. That first year, M.D. Anderson spent $15,312 enabling four scientists, in only two scientific departments - biology and biochemistry, to examine the cancer problem. Little was known about how cancer started or spread at that time. Since then, the institution's total research investment has topped $2 billion to support work now being done in 575 laboratories in many disciplines. When M.D. Anderson first opened its doors, American Cancer Society figures state that the five-year survival rate for cancer was an abysmal 25 percent. Today, with the availability of many standard therapies first developed at M.D. Anderson, the five-year survival rate has risen to 60 percent. Because of excellence in patient care and research advances, last July U.S. News & World Report named M.D. Anderson as the country's top cancer hospital. The event co-chairs want anniversary event supporters to decide for themselves how their contributions will help make a difference in M.D. Anderson's future accomplishments. As a result, the gala organizers have selected an unusual approach to the designation of proceeds. All event contributors are invited to select the M.D. Anderson program that will benefit from their donation. Although donors can direct their gifts to any M.D. Anderson initiative, four primary funding priorities are being suggested for consideration:
The special events team of Ward & Ames, who engineered the "Milestones & Miracles" birthday celebration for the Bushes that benefited M.D. Anderson in June 1999, is again on board to orchestrate the anniversary affair.
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