chop.edu/cancer

Cause for HopeW I N T E R 2 0 1 2

A R E P O R T O N O U R Q U E S T T O E R A D I C AT E C H I L D H O O D C A N C E R

Jonathon, 6, treated for Wilms tumor, with Oncology Division

Chief John M. Maris, M.D.

Dear Friends,

At The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, we never tire in our pursuit of new

treatments and cures for childhood cancer. It takes a remarkable team effort to make

that happen, and you are part of that team.

At the Cancer Center, we have world-class research labs, the finest scientific and

clinical minds and a deep pool of kind, expert caregivers. I am proud to say this is

truly the world’s finest group. But what keeps us here, year after year, is the collective

boost we get from our donor community.

Researchers at CHOP are making great strides in exploring the genetics of pediatric

cancer and the ways in which the body’s immune system can fight cancer. We are

collaborating with many other institutions to make more discoveries faster.

We are delighted to highlight some of the Center’s recent achievements and

innovations in this report and hope that you feel a sense of satisfaction at all your

donations have helped us accomplish. From the Board of Visitors for the Cancer

Center to visionary foundations and compassionate individuals, every gift of time

and money helps transform our promising ideas into reality — and in turn offers

children the hope of one day fulfilling their own dreams and living cancer-free.

Thank you for your generosity and for providing us with the tools we need to help

the children in our care.

Sincerely,

John M. Maris, M.D.

Chief, Division of Oncology

Director, Center for Childhood Cancer Research

Giulio D’Angio Endowed Chair in Neuroblastoma Research

A message fromJohn M. Maris, M.D.

When Anna T. Meadows, M.D., came to CHOP as an oncology fellow in the early 1970s, only two out of every 10 children with cancer were cured.

By the time she retired in 2010, that number had risen to eight out of 10.

“I’ve lived in a glorious time,” she says.

Anna T. Meadows, M.D., a pioneer in the field of cancer survivorship, was a mentor to many during her 38 years at CHOP.

‘I’ve Lived in a Glorious Time’

Anna T. Meadows, M.D.,

retires after

38 years at CHOP

4

But as the number of survivors increased, oncologists like Meadows faced new challenges. “The average child with cancer is 7, so he has 70 years or more to live if he’s cured,” Meadows points out. “Once we realized that there were going to be a lot of survivors, the issue was, were we going to be able to take care of them as adults?”

That question inspired Meadows to start CHOP’s Cancer Survivorship Program — the first program of its kind in the nation — to provide follow-up care for survivors, many of whom struggle with heart problems, infertility and other late effects of their cancer treatment, and who face an increased risk of secondary cancers. She also started the Young Adult Transition Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to provide care to those who grow up. The Cancer Survivorship Program, which is currently run by Jill Ginsberg, M.D., is supported by many donors, including the Nationwide Insurance Foundation, which has given generously to the program every year since 2004.

Much of Meadows’ work focused on finding ways to prevent serious late effects from occurring in the first place. In the early 1980s, she showed that pediatric leukemia patients who received cranial radiation later experienced serious cognitive problems. As a result, CHOP stopped using the treatment in most leukemia cases. It was, she says, “a giant leap” — and it inspired other hospitals to follow CHOP’s lead.

Meadows was also intrigued by the genetics of cancer, an interest that led her to study retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer with a strong genetic component. As a leading figure in the Children’s Oncology Group, she advocated for less toxic treatments that saved the vision, and the lives, of many young patients with the disease.

Over the course of her career, Meadows mentored many physicians who went on to become leaders in the Cancer Center, including Nancy J. Bunin, M.D., director of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, and current division chief John M. Maris, M.D. Their success, Meadows says, “is a source of pride to me.”

“I feel extraordinarily lucky to have had the privilege of being trained by one of the true giants in the field,” says Maris. “Dr. Meadows taught me how to be passionate about the problem of childhood cancer, how to have scientific curiosity, to never accept the status quo, and to have fun while doing this sometimes very difficult job.”

Maris was among those who spoke at Meadows’ retirement celebration in February 2011, which was held in conjunction with the Anna T. Meadows Lecture in Cancer Survivorship, an annual lecture created in part by a gift from Kathryn and John Donnelly. Bruce Saidman, M.D., whose son was a patient of Meadows’ and who donated to the Cancer Center in her honor, also spoke at the event.

The months since her retirement have been busy ones for Meadows, who is currently working with a friend to develop a health coaching service that will help patients navigate the medical system. “The healthcare system in our country really needs help,” she says.

And that’s something this pioneering physician — who has witnessed and advocated for so many remarkable changes in the field over the last four decades — is uniquely qualified to provide.

5

One woman’s mission shows

the power of dedicated donors

After losing her daughter, Andrea Camille, to Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989, Philadelphia school teacher Pat Pollard fielded a difficult question from one of her students: “Do you have a daughter named Sprite?” Sprite had been a nickname for Andrea, who along with her friends were “the soda girls.” Fighting back tears, Pollard managed a composed reply.

“I said, ‘No, she is no longer with us, but I am hoping that nothing like that will happen to

you,’” remembers Pollard. She then told them that to prevent other families from experiencing a similar loss, she was saving money to give to cancer researchers at CHOP, where Andrea had been a patient. Her students wanted to help.

Knowing students liked to throw pennies around in the lunch room and the school yard, Pollard left a container on her desk for students to bring in their pennies, which she promised to match with her own pennies. Pollard, who was a school teacher for 41 years before retiring, saved her own pocket change, along with part of every paycheck, in a separate bank account she earmarked for CHOP.

What began with pennies continues to grow. When family or friends wanted to support cancer research, she collected their donations too. Her dentist added a coin jar to his waiting room. In lieu of exchanging presents for Christmas or their wedding anniversary, Pat and her husband, John, donate their gift budget to CHOP. Over 22 years of giving, the donations Pollard has personally made or collected from family, friends and students has topped $40,000.

For several years, Pollard would bring as many students as she could fit in her car to CHOP to deliver the donations. Her school’s art teacher would make a big foam check and her students would fight over who got to hold it. They presented it to Beverly Lange, M.D., who had been Andrea’s oncologist.

Penn

ies fo

r a C

ure

Andrea Camille Pollard (left) celebrated her 17th birthday at CHOP, surrounded by stuffed animals.

Pat Pollard, grateful parent

6

Lange was so moved by the kids’ generosity that for several years, she, too, matched their donations.

“It was very helpful to have outside support for my research and to know that people wanted to keep studying Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” says Lange. “Pat is a very courageous and determined woman. She believes that every little thing people do will add up into something bigger. And over the years, it’s been a substantial amount of money.”

For her students, Pollard says, giving pennies provided a good life lesson. “It taught them to see beyond themselves and see what they could do for someone else,” she says.

“Pat is one of those inspiring moms,” says Susan DiTaranto, R.N., a nurse manager in the Cancer Center who cared for Andrea. “She honors her child’s memory by teaching others how to give.”

Pollard is also preparing the next generation of her family to carry on her work. Her eldest daughter, Robin McClellon, who once donated her own bone marrow to try to save Andrea, Robin’s husband, Tharon, and Pollard’s niece, Renee Winstead, have all presented checks to CHOP this year. Last year, her brother-in-law, Archie Pollard, gave her a $5,000 check for cancer research at CHOP.

This year, Pollard also became a member of the Hospital’s newly created 1855 Society, which recognizes donors who have given any amount of money to CHOP every fiscal year for 10 years or more.

“You don’t have to have thousands of dollars,” says Pollard. “If you give five dollars consistently, and others do too, you might help a researcher publish a paper. It can help some child. Most assuredly I don’t have thousands of dollars, but it is my commitment to give the Hospital as much as I can. I know they’re going to find a cure.”

7

Lynn Salvo, director of development, Renee Winstead, Pat Pollard’s niece, Madeline Bell, president of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Robin McClellon, Pollard’s daughter

“We try to consider what the cancer

experience is like for each member of the family and then

provide experiences that can bring them

all together.”

Stephanie Rogerwick, M.S.,

C.C.L.S., manager, Child Life,

Education and Creative Arts

Therapy Department

Treating the Whole Child

8

Charlie, 3, treated for neuroblastoma

The Oncology Psychosocial Services Program helps families heal

At CHOP, we know that treating cancer goes beyond simply destroying the disease. Emotionally, cancer brings enormous stress and change for the entire family. A child with cancer may worry about keeping in touch with friends or falling behind at school. Siblings adjust to new routines with long separations from their parents, who are themselves struggling to cope.

Enter the Cancer Center’s Psychosocial Services team of more than 30 professionals — social workers, child life specialists, creative arts therapists, teachers and psychologists — whose aim is to help patients and their families cope with the stress that accompanies a cancer diagnosis and to support families in successful transition through each stage of cancer treatment.

This year, the Cancer Center’s Psychosocial Services Program received two community program grants from LIVESTRONG to implement two exciting programs. The first, the Hospital Artist-in-Residence program, funds weekly visits to CHOP by a professional artist who helps patients, parents and siblings paint pictures, make mosaics, create jewelry and find other creative ways to express their feelings. “It’s a way for children and their families to have a fun, positive, creative experience while they are here at the Hospital,” says Lamia Barakat, Ph.D., director of the Cancer Center’s Psychosocial Services Program. CHOP’s artist-in-residence received special training from The Creative Center, a nonprofit arts organization that brings creative opportunities to those facing cancer and other chronic illnesses. Savannah, 11

“Bubbles of Wonder”

Asia, 15

9

The artwork on these pages was featured in the Cancer Center’s Sibling Art Show.

The second new program, SuperSibs!, addresses the needs of a cancer patient’s siblings. “Life is disrupted for siblings,” says Barakat. “And it can be pretty scary, thinking about what might be happening with their brother or sister.” In fact, she says, research done at CHOP and elsewhere has shown that in some cases siblings go on to have higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression than the brother or sister with cancer. The SuperSibs! program recognizes and supports these “quiet heroes” with fun activities like the sibling art show that was held at CHOP on Nov. 13 — some of that art is pictured here — as well as a mobile writing center that’s staffed by a child life specialist who encourages parents and patients to write letters to a brother or sister at home.

Roughly 25 percent of the Center’s patients are adolescents and young adults (AYAs). “Cancer can really derail adolescents and young adults in meeting some of their major life goals, such as becoming more autonomous, going to college or finding a profession,” says Barakat. Thanks in part to a grant from the CHOP Women’s Committee, Barakat’s team has developed services for patients from age 15 through their early 20s. A Facebook discussion group provides a forum for sharing experiences. The funding has also enabled the Cancer Center to create an AYA-friendly waiting room area with information on AYA resources, AYA reading material and electronics, as well as to purchase more laptop computers and other electronic devices for AYA patients to use in the Alex Scott Day

Hospital and inpatient unit. Barakat also facilitates a 12-member AYA patient steering committee to advise CHOP on the types of programs they believe would be most helpful in supporting AYAs through treatment and guiding them in meeting their goals.

Wherever the Cancer Center’s Psychosocial Services team spots a need, they aim to address it, and donor funds are making many of these ideas a reality. Eileen Kenna Satullo, L.S.W., a social worker with special expertise in education law, devotes one day each week to helping families negotiate school placements for their children with cancer, thanks to a grant from La Speranza Charitable Foundation. This year, a gift from the Aflac Foundation will allow Psychosocial Services to launch “OncoCafé” in the outpatient clinic, a coffee cart staffed by psychosocial staff and nurses to give parents a forum to informally connect, enhance education about cancer, and connect families to resources.

With 400 to 500 new patients each year, plus many more whom they continue to follow, Barakat and the psychosocial staff are deeply grateful for donor support. “It’s made such a difference in terms of what we’re able to provide to our families,” she says. “Philanthropic funding is critical as we strive to continue to build our programs so we can do what we do even better, thereby achieving our goal of meeting the needs of all our families.”

“It’s a way for children and their families to have a fun, positive,

creative experience while they are here at the Hospital.”

Lamia Barakat, Ph.D.

10

Rachael, 5

11

ImprovingChemotherapy

12

Harry, 6, BMT patient, with his mom

CHOP researchers use donor funds to study promising new techniques

When it comes to fighting cancer, chemotherapy is often one of our best tools. But because its side effects can be so severe and not all cancers respond, researchers are trying to find ways to make chemotherapy more focused and effective. Thanks to a recent gift to CHOP, a promising new area of chemotherapy research is going full steam ahead.

Most chemotherapy kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA. But cells are constantly repairing damaged DNA, a process that helps our regular cells, but unfortunately also protects cancerous cells.

In an effort to prevent cancer cells from repairing DNA damage caused by chemotherapy, researchers at CHOP have shown that PARP inhibitors, a class of compounds that block the chemical signal that prompts DNA repair, seem to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy commonly used to treat pediatric cancer.

“Blocking the DNA damage signal may allow [chemotherapeutic] agents to work better and kill more cancer cells,” says research leader Robin Norris, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., who has worked with mentors Peter Adamson, M.D., and Elizabeth Fox, M.D., on this project.

Norris is continuing to test combinations of different PARP inhibitors and chemotherapy drugs on various pediatric solid tumors in the lab, searching for which combinations most effectively treat particular childhood cancers. A generous gift from the George L. Ohrstrom Jr. Foundation last year has allowed Norris to work to gather enough data to approach a phase I clinical trial. Such a trial would move her ideas from the lab into real therapies for the children she treats at CHOP.

A trustee at the Ohrstrom Foundation prompted the donation after learning of the challenges faced by Andrew Accardi, a neuroblastoma patient at CHOP, whose family has held a successful golf fundraiser to help fund research into the disease. Inspired by Andrew’s story and his family’s efforts to help advance the science of neuroblastoma care, the Ohrstrom Foundation’s trustees designated a gift to assist a researcher early in his or her career to study the rare but particularly dangerous childhood cancer. This Ohrstrom gift allows Norris to address a specific challenge in her research as it relates to neuroblastoma. To account for the fact that some drugs act differently once in the body, Norris’ current research expands her cellular experiments into treating human neuroblastoma tumors that have been transplanted into mice.

Norris hopes that by the summer of 2012, she will have enough data to prove that the concept of a PARP inhibitor-chemotherapy combination is worth a clinical trial and to show which drug combinations are likely to have the best effect.

“Funding for research can be incredibly hard to find by physician-scientists early in their careers, despite the fact that many vital advances grow out of the insights in such early-stage work,” says Michael Hogarty, M.D., an oncologist in the Cancer Center. “The Ohrstrom Foundation’s gift to Dr. Norris’ PARP inhibitor research is a great example of how philanthropy helps us bridge the gap between fellowships and NIH funding to see that the best research gets done.”

13

V Foundation grants spur exciting research at CHOP

Research scientists at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have big ideas. And thanks to visionary philanthropists who partner with the Hospital, CHOP researchers have the ability to follow up their ideas. One of these vital partners, the V Foundation for Cancer Research, has awarded a 2011 Translational Research Grant to CHOP researchers Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko, Ph.D., and Stephan Grupp, M.D., Ph.D., to support a three-year study of the causes and mechanisms of B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia, a blood cancer that spreads throughout the entire body.

Translational research moves scientific discoveries from the lab to patients’ bedsides, turning innovative research into new clinical treatments. Developing cancer therapies more quickly is a major priority for the V Foundation, which was established in 1993 by basketball coach Jim Valvano and ESPN, before Valvano passed away from bone cancer that year.

This is the second year in a row that the V Foundation has awarded one of its $600,000 translational grants to CHOP; Garrett Brodeur, M.D., and Robert Levy, M.D., are using a 2010 grant to investigate nanotechnology as a safer, targeted way of delivering chemotherapy drugs that attack neuroblastoma. By “packaging” drug molecules in minuscule nanoparticles engineered in the lab, scientists can improve their effectiveness against tumors while sparing healthy tissue, decreasing their toxicity, and minimizing long-term side effects on pediatric patients.

The 2011 grant will allow Thomas-Tikhonenko, chief of the Division of Cancer Pathobiology, and his co-investigator Grupp, director of Translational Research at the Center for Childhood Cancer Research, to look into the therapeutic effects of inhibiting two signaling pathways that trigger activation of a cancer protein called Myc, which leads to the uncontrolled growth of immature white blood cells.

This is an expansion of Thomas-Tikhonenko’s previous research, in which inhibiting a particular enzyme called PI3-kinase successfully blocked proteins on the surface of B cells from activating Myc in B-cell lymphoma. Without these proteins, tumors were smaller and formed much more slowly in mouse models — but they were not inhibited completely.

Working“Bench to Bedside”

14

15

“Dr. Elaine Chung, in my lab, found that another pathway is engaged as a compensatory mechanism,” says Thomas-Tikhonenko. They identified that pathway as JNK, which is the enzyme that is activated. “That led us to the idea that you now need to inhibit these two pathways simultaneously, because if you inhibit one of them, it will give you some therapeutic benefits — but not enough.”

Thomas-Tikhonenko plans to determine what drug best targets the JNK pathway by using mouse models and human tumor specimens from Grupp’s lab. “We hope that in three years we will have some conclusive answers that can be taken to the clinic.”

Thomas-Tikhonenko is very grateful for the support of the V Foundation and Children’s Hospital. “Private foundations play a tremendous role, especially in these times, when federal funding is at its lowest,” he says. Organizations like the V Foundation are also more willing to invest in early-career cancer investigators and translational projects like those at the Center for Childhood Cancer Research.

“This is a fantastic environment for me, and I don’t think I would be able to do this kind of work anywhere else,” Thomas-Tikhonenko says.

Translating research discoveries from the lab into new cancer

therapies makes important advances more quickly available to

children. The close collaboration between basic and clinical research is a hallmark of the Cancer Center.

The legacy of Alex Scott lives on through a $2 million donation

When oncology patients come to CHOP for chemotherapy, most will walk through a doorway topped with big gold letters reading, “Alex Scott Day Hospital.” Many of them know Alex’s story well: At the age of 4, CHOP patient Alexandra Scott had been fighting cancer courageously for three years, and she wanted to raise money to help her doctors find a cure. She set up a lemonade stand that raised $2,000 in a single day, and she didn’t stop there. Her lemonade stands inspired others to set up their own. Before she passed away at the age of 8, Alex raised more than $1 million for cancer research.

Alex’s parents, Liz and Jay Scott, have continued Alex’s crusade. The Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) funds cancer research across North America and has been a longtime supporter of CHOP, donating more than $3 million to the Hospital since 2003. In December 2010, the foundation committed an additional $2 million to CHOP’s Center for Childhood Cancer Research.

This is a unique investment in the efforts of the CCCR as it allows Center leadership the

flexibility and discretion to allocate much-needed resources to the most promising research projects.

“We gave them the money to speed up the clinical trial process and the flexibility to use it how they thought they could best do that,” says Jay Scott, Alex’s father and executive director of ALSF. “If a kid has cancer, he can’t afford to wait for a new treatment to open up.”

It is timely in another way. “The cancer research community is at a major crossroad,” says Alex’s doctor at CHOP, John M. Maris, M.D. “While there has never been more enthusiasm for the pace of discovery and translation to the clinic, National Cancer Institute funding for pediatric cancer research continues to plummet. The ALSF-CHOP partnership fills a major void.”

Past gifts from Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation have supported CHOP-led cancer breakthroughs like the discovery of a key gene associated with neuroblastoma and a recent treatment breakthrough that significantly boosts survival rates by using the child’s own immune system to attack cancer cells.

Still Inspiring

Alex’s parents, Liz and Jay Scott

16

17

Top left — Children enjoying Alex’s Lemonade Stand Day

Top right — Peter Adamson, M.D., Chair of the

Children’s Oncology Group and Chief, Division of

Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (left) at Alex’s

Lemonade Stand Day

Bottom — Liz and Jay Scott with John M. Maris, M.D.,

Melvyn Greaves, M.D., and members of the Alex’s

Lemonade Stand Foundation staff and board

In recognition of the enormous impact that Alex has had on CHOP, a lecture series was recently begun in her honor. On Oct. 11, the Center for Childhood Cancer Research held the inaugural Alexandra Scott Lectureship in Pediatric Oncology. The first lecture in the annual series was given by Melvyn Greaves, M.D., a professor at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the world’s preeminent researcher on childhood leukemia.

In addition, the first annual Alexandra Scott Symposium in Pediatric Oncology Research will be held this fall, drawing both junior and senior researchers together to exchange ideas and share the most current and impactful science in pediatric oncology.

Collaborating for a CureDaniel Sullivan’s fundraising page supports his physicians’ research

Shortly before celebrating his 10th birthday, Daniel Sullivan experienced pain in his leg. What doctors initially thought was a pulled hamstring turned out to be something much worse:Ewing’s sarcoma, an aggressive cancer that occurs primarily in the bone or soft tissue.

Daniel’s parents brought him to CHOP, where oncologist Richard Womer, M.D., one of the nation’s leading experts in sarcoma, began treating Daniel.

“Dr. Womer has worked tirelessly to find solutions to Daniel’s persistent disease,” says Pat Sullivan, Daniel’s father, “bringing to bear his deep-seated understanding of sarcomas, his international network of fellow oncologists, and his great ability to extend science to situations that have no answers, only judgments.”

Although Daniel underwent surgery and nine months of chemotherapy, he experienced a relapse. Of particular concern was a tumor on Daniel’s lung. Numerous surgeons felt that surgery to remove it was too dangerous. Several courses of chemotherapy, both conventional and experimental, caused the tumor to shrink temporarily, but did not eliminate it.

CHOP patient Daniel Sullivan, 18, with his sister, Kelly

18

The family felt hopeless until Daniel’s mother, Jessie DiNome, a radiation oncologist, heard about Joe Friedberg, M.D., a surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania. Friedberg specializes in complex and advanced tumors in the lung, and is known for his success with mesothelioma patients, another aggressive form of cancer with few effective treatments. Only one catch: Friedberg had never operated on a child.

Thanks to the persistence of Womer and Friedberg and the special relationship between CHOP and Penn, Friedberg received permission to operate on Daniel at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The troublesome chest wall tumor was removed, and Daniel enjoyed several months with no recurrence, without treatment. But then, the tumor returned again, in Daniel’s chest and in his leg.

In 2010, Womer drew on all his expertise to give the

Sullivans hope once again. A National Cancer Institute study held promise for Daniel, aiming to use his immune system to attack the cancer. “Getting Daniel to be eligible for the study was a complex project,” says Womer, “because in order to participate, the patient had to be in remission.” With a complex program of chemotherapy, orthopaedic surgery, and another chest operation by Friedberg (this time at CHOP, with Peter Mattei, M.D.), all of Daniel’s visible tumor was removed, and he went to the NCI to begin his immunotherapy in January 2011. He returned to CHOP in July. “So far,” his father says, “so good.”

Appreciative of the care their son had been given at CHOP and eager to make a difference for other children with sarcomas, the Sullivans created a fundraising page on the CHOP Foundation website, www.giftofchildhood.org, to allow friends and family to contribute to Womer’s and Friedberg’s research. “Each of these doctors is a man of extreme dedication, great skill and knowledge with determination bred of compassion,” says Pat Sullivan. “For us, they are nothing short of our saviors.”

The Sullivans began with an initial goal of raising $600,000, but far surpassed it, raising more than $700,000. Pat Sullivan also joined the Board of Visitors for the Cancer Center. (Please see page 22.)

“We just want to return the favor for all CHOP has done for Daniel,” says Pat.

19

“Each of these doctors

is a man of extreme

dedication, great skill

and knowledge with

determination bred of

compassion.”

Pat Sullivan, father of CHOP patient Daniel Sullivan

This past September, the Cancer Center launched a campaign called “30 Days, 1 Cause” to raise awareness of the need for more research funding for childhood cancer. The month got off to a great start with a Town Hall that was attended by 250 Cancer Center staff at three CHOP sites. On Sept. 18, close to 400 patients and family members attended the third annual Beyond Cancer family reunion on CHOP’s Main Campus. Then, on Sept. 25, participants in the Four Seasons Parkway Run & Walk raised more than $650,000 for childhood cancer research. And throughout the month, CHOP’s “30 Days, 1 Cause” message appeared on buses and regional rail trains throughout the Philadelphia area. Cancer Center staff, patients and families agree: Childhood cancer awareness is an incredibly worthy cause.

CHOP Makes Childhood Cancer

Awareness Month Count

20

Beyond Cancer Family Reunion

To learn more about how

you can help, please

contact Lynn Salvo,

director of development,

at 267-425-2086 or

SalvoL@email.chop.edu.

21

The Four Seasons Parkway Run & Walk

Cancer Center Establishes Board of Visitors

In 2011,The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia took a transformative step by establishing a Board of Visitors for the Cancer Center. The group is an appointed board of community leaders who believe in the mission of Children’s Hospital and are committed to advancing the Cancer Center’s excellence. They act as public ambassadors, participating in and leading events to raise funds and awareness for the Division of Oncology and the Center for Childhood Cancer Research. Their volunteer work fuels the Cancer Center’s mission to change the course of treatment for cancer patients, improve outcomes and help children facing this devastating disease.

Steven Wolfson (co-chair)

Karen Wolfson (co-chair)

Joan Canuso

John B. Canuso, Sr.

Joseph A. Canuso

Maureen Canuso

Mark A. Graham

Nicci Graham

Pam H. Schneider

Tony Schneider

Patrick J. Sullivan

John M. Maris, M.D. (division chief )

Board of Visitors for the Cancer Center Founding Members

22

Elijah, 9, treated for neuroblastoma

23

Rena, 4, treated for Wilms tumor, with her mom

The “All In” for Kids Poker Tournament, hosted by poker legend Phil Hellmuth, and benefitting CHOP’s Center for Childhood Cancer Research, was held on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York. The tournament, attended by more than 200, was presented by The Kortney Rose Foundation and raised nearly $830,000. Thank you to all our dedicated donors for making the 2011 tournament another great success!

The “All In” for KidsPoker Tournament

24

25

The “All In“ ” for Kids Poker Tournament

Eagles Fly for Leukemia Pledges

$300,000 to Cancer Center

Eagles Fly for Leukemia has announced a new $300,000 commitment to the Cancer Center. The gift will be used to support oncology research. A room in the Ruth and Tristram Colket, Jr. Translational Research Building will be named the Eagles Fly for Leukemia Symposium Room in tribute to Tom Brookshier, the legendary broadcaster and Eagles defensive back who died of cancer in 2010. Founded by Eagles tight end Fred Hill and his neighbor, Stan Lane, after Hill’s young daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in the 1970s, Eagles Fly for Leukemia supports childhood cancer research and funds a number of college scholarships for childhood cancer survivors. The organization has been a Cancer Center donor for more than three decades.

Brodeur Receives 2011 CHOP Mentor Award

Three Children’s Hospital investigators, including Garrett M. Brodeur, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Division of Oncology, received the 2011 CHOP Mentor Award. The award honors faculty members who have demonstrated

extraordinary dedication to mentoring other members of the CHOP faculty in some, but not necessarily all, aspects of academic careers, such as research, clinical care, administration, teaching, advocacy and promotion; and local, national and international career development.

CHOP Receives Two $100,000 Grants from

Hyundai Hope on Wheels® Program

Philadelphia Hyundai Dealers joined Hyundai Motor America to support childhood cancer research by presenting two grants to CHOP as part of the Hope on Wheels program. On August 10, CHOP fellows Vandana

Batra, M.D., and Lisa Wray, M.D., received a $100,000 Hyundai Scholar grant to support their research to find better treatments and ultimately cures for neuroblastoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Following the presentation of the grant, Philadelphia-area children affected by cancer placed their handprints in colorful paint on a 2011 Hyundai to commemorate their brave battles with cancer. And on Sept. 26, Elizabeth Fox, M.D., head of CHOP’s Developmental Therapeutics Program, received a $100,000 Hope grant to support her team’s efforts to optimize dosing of new agents and conventional chemotherapy drugs to treat childhood cancer.

Bunin Receives CHOP’s

Prestigious Master Clinician Award

Nancy Bunin, M.D., director of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, has been named one of CHOP’s 2011 Master Clinicians. The award, which was established five years ago with an endowment

from the Department of Pediatrics in partnership with the Hospital, recognizes physicians who demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to patient care as well as superb clinical skills. Past recipients of the award from the Division of Oncology include Jean Belasco, M.D., Anne Reilly, M.D., M.P.H., and Tammy Kang, M.D.

Oncology News Briefs

26

Stan Lane, founder, Eagles Fly for Leukemia, Barbara Brookshier, Susan Vari, president, Eagles Fly for Leukemia, and Lynn Salvo, director of development.

Thank You

The children you see throughout this report are our

patients. It is for them, and for the many others in

our care, that we relentlessly pursue the next

advances in cancer treatment and research.

Your support is vital to the work of the Cancer Center.

To learn more about how you can help, please contact

Lynn Salvo, director of development, at 267-425-2086

or SalvoL@email.chop.edu.

On cover: Edie, 2, treated for neuroblastoma

5280

/7m

/01_

12

Founded in 1855 as the first pediatric hospital in America, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a nonprofit children’s charity devoted to the idea that kids deserve the best

possible care. Patients from all 50 states and more than 50 countries come to CHOP for family-centered medical care that is consistently ranked among the best in the United States

and the world. Through its steadfast commitment to exceptional patient care, life-saving research, superior medical education and public service programs, CHOP has become

one of the largest pediatric healthcare networks in the nation and has improved the lives of children worldwide.

©2012 The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.