Cancer Center Council makes historic $1 million pledge to CTRC

Past presidents of the Cancer Center Council (CCC) get together at their annual Lecture Luncheon. They are: (Left to right) Andi Rodriguez, Laurie Kaplan (current CCC president), Helen West, Jill Howe, Lori Wright, Karen Heintz, Edith McAllister (honorary trustee and founding member), Erin Bowman, Lois Yancy (honorary trustee and founding member), Mary West Traylor, Martha Weiss, Karen Norman, Rose Marie Banack and Lisa Howlett Cohick.

In the complex and ongoing war against cancer, the CTRC at the UT Health Science Center is fortunate to have an army of steadfast volunteers in the Cancer Center Council (CCC). This tightly knit group of community leaders, formed in 1984, has grown throughout the years. Currently, more than 500 members strong, the CCC’s mission is to sustain the CTRC through fundraising, cancer education, patient support and community outreach programs.

This year, the CCC has made one of the largest pledges in its history –$1 million to establish the Cancer Center Council Distinguished Chair in Oncology at the CTRC.

Jim Callaway, AT&T senior executive vice president, executive operations, and immediate past chair of the CTRC Board of Governors, thanked the members of the CCC and praised their dedication.

“We are so grateful to the members of the Cancer Center Council for their support and generosity throughout the years,” Callaway said. “Without their leadership, the CTRC would not be where it is today. The CCC’s recent $1 million pledge is a testament to their commitment to advancing the mission of the CTRC, and to their perseverance in the battle against a deadly disease.”

William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, Health Science Center president, agreed.

“Volunteers play an essential role in advancing the missions of our Health Science Center. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Cancer Center Council, our CTRC will have the best resources to make lives better for patients throughout South Texas and our world.”

Laurie Kaplan, CCC president, said the gift will allow the CTRC to recruit an additional outstanding faculty member to San Antonio who will help advance research, treatment and patient care at the CTRC.

“This endowment will ensure the CTRC brings a world-class scientist to San Antonio and South Texas,” Kaplan said. “The research being accomplished at the CTRC and the UT Health Science Center is important not only for Texas, but also for the entire world. Recruiting the best of the best to develop new and better ways to treat cancer is a vital role of the CTRC and one that will benefit those diagnosed with cancer in years to come. The quality of care offered at the CTRC is imperative to patients who come from all over the state and beyond. We are quite fortunate to have this treatment facility in our backyard.”

Kaplan said the CCC hopes to set an example in the community that others can follow.

“Our ultimate goal is to be able to say in the future that, because of our support of the CTRC, the Cancer Center Council played an integral role in discovering a cure for cancer.”

Since its inception, the CCC has donated more than $2.4 million to the CTRC, including $750,000 for the Cancer Center Council Patient Education Suite in the Comprehensive Breast Health Clinic and $1 million for the Capital Campaign to help build the Roger and Cherry Zeller Building and the Charles and Betty Urschel Building.

The CCC raises funds for the CTRC by hosting events such as the annual Lecture Luncheon, a spring event featuring a keynote speaker whose life has been touched by cancer, as well as the annual Partners Shopping Card program, which provides savings for cardholders at hundreds of local merchants during the designated 10-day shopping period. The CCC also leads the volunteer efforts for the annual San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon, a fundraiser held each fall for the Phase I Clinical Research Program.