Robert Burger, MD, Director, Women’s Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center

The bond between five sisters can be unbreakable, especially when tragedy strikes. In 1990, Tyanna Barre O’Brien, 48, lost her courageous battle with breast cancer – and five girls lost their mother.

Several years later, when each was living on her own, Anne, Bridget, Megan, Sara and Kate O’Brien decided to establish a fund to honor their mother’s life, love and living legacy. In 1999, The Tyanna Foundation was founded and its signature event, BreastFest, was launched.

5 Sisters on a Mission: (from left) Sara, Anne, Katie, Bridget and Megan (not pictured)

Since its inception in Athens, Georgia, The Tyanna Foundation has operated solely by the generous support of volunteers who have worked tirelessly to increase awareness of breast cancer and generate funds to support breast cancer research, services, education, treatment and patient care for local breast cancer patients and survivors.

By expanding its reach into four states (Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania), BreastFest has raised over one million dollars to help local organizations treat and care for breast cancer patients. All of the funds raised in each city benefit a local breast center or breast health organization.

The Money Wheel

All proceeds for the Philadelphia chapter of The Tyanna Foundation are donated to the Breast Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center. In its first year in Philadelphia, The Tyanna Foundation and BreastFest raised over $13,000 for Fox Chase, which was dedicated to research and a survivors series.

Join Tyanna’s Daughters on September 17 in Philadelphia
After a very successful launch into the Philadelphia area in 2010, the second annual BreastFest Philly has been scheduled for Saturday, September 17, 2011, at Mad River Bar & Grille in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood located at 4100 Main Street, Philadelphia.

Enjoy the music of five live bands!

Beginning at 3:00pm, guests will enjoy live music performed by Loverbuggy, Alice’s Garage, Northern Rednecks, Sara O’Brien and Stellar Mojo. There will be plenty of food, drinks, raffles and silent auction items. The event ends at 8:00pm.

Tickets are $40 in advance, $50 at the door and all proceeds benefit breast cancer research, treatment and prevention programs at Fox Chase. For more information, or to purchase your tickets, visit www.breastfest.org or write to breastfestphilly@gmail.com.

The Pre-Party Event on August 25
If you happen to be in Philadelphia on August 25 instead of the Jersey Shore, you’re in luck! The Tyanna Foundation is “Painting Manayunk Pink!” The gang will gather at Mad River – check their Facebook page for details.

Silent Auction

I wish the O’Brien sisters all the best with their terrific event. For more information on other events held to benefit Fox Chase Cancer Center, visit our online calendar – and join us on Facebook! If you are inspired to plan your own fundraiser, let us know. We have staff to help get you started. Contact Jamie Roche in the Institutional Advancement Department at 215-728-2531.

As always, thanks for your support.

Be well, Bob

Robert Burger, MD, Director, Women’s Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center

Joseph Frick and Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center

Dr. Crystal Denlinger shows off her award with her mother and aunt, both of whom are survivors.

On Sunday, June 5, 2011, more than 600 cancer survivors and their loved ones headed to Fox Chase Cancer Center – but this time, it was for fun. To commemorate National Cancer Survivors Day, Fox Chase’s Board of Associates held its annual food-tasting event, Plain & Fancy, with a special focus on survivorship this year.

The survivorship program took place in the Center’s Auditorium, hosted by Joseph A. Frick, the former President and CEO of Independence Blue Cross, and a Fox Chase colon cancer survivor. Many folks in the audience related to the stories Mr. Frick shared about his experience. In the room next door, Carrie Flower invited  younger guests into a nearby room for a live show and book reading.

Next, Mr. Frick introduced Kim Hagerich, honorary chair of the event, and a Fox Chase breast cancer survivor. Kim not only dealt with cancer herself, but she watched her mother fight the disease and eventually lose her life to cancer. Through her journey, this young mother and wife became a patient advocate and established a local chapter of the Young Survival Coalition.

Honorary Program Chair, Kim Hagerich; Fox Chase President and CEO, Dr. Michael Seiden; Board of Associates President, Debra Sniger; Program Host, Joseph A. Frick; Medical Oncologist, Dr. Crystal Denlinger

The program ended with the CHASE Awards, which represent Courage, Heart, Advocacy, Service and Education with regards to survivorship. Awards were presented to Crystal Denlinger, MD, medical oncologist; The Breathing Room; and Janet Engstrom, of Fox Chase’s Board of Associates.

Guests filed out of the auditorium and headed straight to the sunny courtyard where two tents were lined with tables featuring a variety of dishes from local restaurants. Joyful music filled the air, performed by the Ken Ulansey Ensemble. The Phillie Phanatic entertained both children and adults alike. Survivors and their friends and family connected with others, which made the event meaningful for everyone.

As the celebration ended, several children gathered in the newly dedicated survivors garden and planted daisies, which you can see in the following three-minute photo montage, which highlights the celebration.

We hope your summer is off to a wonderful start and hope to see you at next year’s cancer survivors celebration!

Be well,
Bob Burger

Robert Burger, MD, Director, Women’s Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center

Cheryl and Scott Herman present the check to Fox Chase president and CEO, Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD (left), that put them over the one million dollar mark.

Cheryl Herman has a positive attitude for life. This was especially evident when she established a special fund at Fox Chase Cancer Center in tribute to her beloved sister, Eileen Stein Jacoby.

In 1996, at the age of 42, Eileen had a routine mammogram. Her doctor detected a pea-sized mass of cells that would later turn out to be breast cancer – ductal carcinoma. After a three-year struggle with the disease, this mother, sister, daughter, wife and friend passed away.

A year after Eileen’s passing, Cheryl and her family decided to turn a very negative event in their lives into something positive. Cheryl threw her energies into developing The Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund as a lasting tribute to her sister’s life.

With tremendous support from her husband Scott, her children, Justin and Jillian, her parents Harold and Pauline Stein, her brother and sister in-law, Mitch and Julie Stein, and niece and nephew Alison and Evan Epstein, The Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund at Fox Chase Cancer Center was established in 2000.

Xiaowei Chen, PhD, was one of the first scientists whose research was supported through the Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund.

Instead of being used to buy an expensive piece of equipment that will one day become obsolete, the Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund invests in a much more valuable and important part of cancer research: new researchers. One hundred percent of the money that the fund raises goes towards this important cause.

Small but mighty, The Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund has achieved a tremendous amount during its first decade.The fund supports a talented research team and its fundraising efforts have had a tremendous impact on their work. The fund initially supported the laboratory of molecular biologist and geneticist, Andrew Godwin, PhD (who has since left the institution). The fund sponsored Dr. Xiaowei Chen (pictured at podium above) when he first joined Dr. Godwin’s laboratory in 2002. Dr. Chen’s studies examine the hereditary and non-hereditary factors that influence an individual’’s risk of developing breast cancer and theirs response to therapy.

The Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund is run completely by volunteers. Every penny that they have raised over the years has gone solely toward cancer research.

The many fundraising activities organized by Cheryl and her army of committee members and volunteers have included an annual bowling benefit, golf outing, shopping sprees and special events at various businesses, holiday gift-wrapping at a local mall, sporting event trips, breast cancer apparel sales, trips to Broadway shows, breast cancer awareness events for students, charity concerts, square dances and more!

On May 12, 2011, Eileen Stein Jacoby's family and friends gathered at Fox Chase Cancer Center for a reception to celebrate the $1 million mark for the fund.

Cheryl and Scott’s daughter, Jillian, is the student volunteer coordinator for the fund and was recently honored with a philanthropy award at her high school. Their son, Justin, is enrolled in medical school in Philadelphia.

For more information on the Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund, and to learn about their upcoming activities, visit The Eileen Stein Jacoby Fund or contact Cheryl Herman.

Robert Burger, MD, Director, Women’s Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center

Fox Chase’s Joanne Hambleton, vice president of nursing and patient services, has a unique perspective when it comes to the cancer experience. As a nurse here for the last 21 years, she has supported and fostered the provision of compassionate care to countless patients and their family members. Then, she had the opportunity to see Fox Chase from the perspective of these patients as she was diagnosed with breast cancer and treated here in 2004. As both a patient and caregiver, Joanne has consistently been inspired by one abiding quality: hope. This year she will have the honor of hosting the 21^st annual Tree of Life Ceremony—a beautiful event that celebrates the role of hope in the cancer journey. I have invited her to tell you more about this special evening, which will take place on Wednesday, December 8^th at 5:30 p.m.

Be Well,
Bob

I hope you’ll consider joining me next week at the Tree of Life Ceremony, which will bring together Fox Chase patients, caregivers, researchers, volunteers, medical staff and friends to honor lost loved ones, give thanks for the compassionate care of staff, and recognize all those touched by cancer. This 21-year-old tradition is a beautiful way to honor the memory of all those who have fought or are currently being treated for cancer.

I encourage you to check out the video below, in which I share some brief remarks at a special tea held on November 8^th announcing this year’s Tree of Life Ceremony. You will see snapshots of ceremonies from years past and you will hear from kidney cancer survivor Daniel Wolfson, a generous supporter of Fox Chase, about what his care here meant to him.

All of us at Fox Chase embrace cancer’s challenges on a daily basis. We are united together with the common purpose of supporting each other and providing a powerful source of care, compassion, and support to our friends and neighbors in need.

We will kick off the evening in the Fox Chase cafeteria, where I will speak along with Dara Barr, a cancer survivor, and Dr. Michael Levy, director of the Pain and Palliative Care Program at Fox Chase. You can enjoy light refreshments as a performance by the Abington Choral Club follows. To conclude the evening, we will have a tree lighting ceremony in the Fox Chase courtyard.

The Tree of Life will remain ablaze in the courtyard throughout the holiday season with lights representing hope.  It is a shining symbol of what we can achieve—of how far we’ve come and yet how far we still have to go until the day that cancer will no longer claim the lives of our patients, families, friends and neighbors.

Please consider showing your support for all those touched by cancer by attending this moving ceremony, which is free and open to the public.  Another excellent way to show your support—even if you can’t attend—is to make a Tree of Life contribution.  Your donation will support life sustaining research, compassionate treatment, and critical patient support programs.

To learn more about this wonderful event, or to make a donation, please visit http://www.fccc.edu/helpingFoxChase/campaigns/treeOfLife/.  You can also download and print out a paper leaf on which to write a note or dedication.  We will proudly display the leaves throughout the cafeteria for all to see.

If you can make it to the event on December 8^th, please stop by and introduce yourself!

Best Wishes,

Joanne Hambleton

2010 Tree of Life Ceremony

Wednesday, December 8^th, 5:30 p.m.

Fox Chase Cancer Center cafeteria

333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111

Robert Burger, MD, Director, Women’s Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center

Dr. Marcia Boraas

Here at Fox Chase, we’re constantly amazed by the incredible ways that family and friends of cancer patients choose to support and honor their loved ones. Equally inspiring are the ways that these people – regardless of their age – can make a difference in their communities.

I’d like to share with you a special story about how one patient’s experience inspired her daughter to make a difference in the breast cancer community by organizing a successful fundraiser for teens and their moms. Her work also resulted in the public recognition of the doctor who not only treated her mom, but who has made a positive impact in the lives of women throughout the Delaware Valley.

This is the story of Barbara Davis and her daughter Eliza, presented by Barbara’s doctor Marcia Boraas, MD, a surgical oncologist who recently returned to Fox Chase. We hope you find it as inspiring as we do.

Be Well,

Bob

Last November, I had the great honor of being recognized for “Outstanding Devotion to the Breast Health of the Women of the Delaware Valley” at the first annual “Tickled Pink” event sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event—a gala featuring an auction and survivor fashion show—was planned and launched by Teens for the Cure, a junior chapter of the local Komen affiliate that was founded by Eliza Davis, the youngest daughter of my patient Barbara.

I first met Barbara when she developed breast cancer in 2003 and I performed her surgery here at Fox Chase. Inspired by Barbara’s experience overcoming cancer, Eliza launched a Philadelphia chapter of Teens for the Cure and rallied friends and supporters to organize the area’s first Tickled Pink event. The highly successful event was attended by over 400 guests and raised an impressive $110,000 for Komen. Just as importantly, it offered breast cancer survivors, their families and friends the opportunity to come together and celebrate.

(left to right) Eliza Davis, me (Marcia Boraas), Elaine Grobman, the Executive Director, Susan G. Komen for the Cure Philadelphia, and my patient, Barbara Davis, at Tickled Pink 2009.

Most women with breast cancer are treated successfully, which is why offering hopeful care to my patients is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work at Fox Chase. Eliza and Barbara’s story reflects the importance of hope, and shows how an experience that is initially frightening—a breast cancer diagnosis—can turn into a source of inspiration and positive change.

I sincerely hope you’ll consider joining Barbara, Eliza, my daughter, Elisabeth and myself at this year’s Tickled Pink, which will be held at the National Constitution Center on Friday, November 19, 2010.

All the best,
Marcia Boraas, MD

——————————————————————-

To learn more about this year’s Tickled Pink and to buy tickets (available through November 1), click here.

For more on Barbara and Eliza, read their stories:
Barbara Davis: Patient Testimonial
Eliza Davis: The Teen with the Dream