On Tuesday, September 19, 2006, Dana Farber Cancer Institute honored my sister Carol Ann Epstein. It was a tremendous tribute to Carol Ann's 27 years of volunteer involvement and leadership in Aid For Cancer Research. ACR is a fundraising organization of 25 women who have raised millions of dollars in the Boston area in the fight to cure and eradicate cancer.
About 50 people were in attendance to honor Carol Ann including Armand, Danielle, other family & friends and the members of ACR. It was wonderful to see such love, support and appreciation for all the work Carol has done..
Dr. Ron DePinho greeted the 50 people attending. Dr. DePinho is one of Dana Farber's leading physician researchers. He talked about the critical work that occurs at the Dana Farber and the tremendous progress that they have achieved. He thanked Carol for her tireless work and dedication and recognized that without Carol, ACR and likeminded people, the Dana Farber would never be able to accomplish all that they do.
Cheryl Bloom, President of ACR, spoke next. She referenced Carol's commitment and spoke of their relationship as friends through the years.
When Carol stood to speak, you could feel the energy in the room. People were so excited to see Carol Ann being honored. Through the years, Carol has held four terms as President of ACR and chaired four luncheons. Carol spoke of her years with ACR – her involvement with the organization – and the support that she has received from her family and the other ACR members.
Her words were very special and personally touched each of us in the room. Carol Ann spoke of Jodi Robin, her wonderful daughter and my niece, who died of non hodgkins lymphoma five years ago in August, 2001. Jodi was so loving, brave and inspirational to all of us. As Carol shared such cherished memories with us, Jodi would light up her room with her smile.
After Carol, Danielle spoke as well. Danielle's words brought the entire room to tears. She spoke on behalf of Sari and Jodi in heaven. She spoke of their love for Carol – of how Carol's involvement in ACR was part of their growing up and their family life. She referenced life's irony with Carol committing herself to fighting cancer 27 years ago without any sense of how cancer would influence our lives with the loss of Jodi, my Mom and Dad. And, she mentioned that we could all hope and pray that Carol's work will save other families the pain and suffering endured by ours.
After the ceremony, we took a tour of Dr. DePinho's laboratory and the new laser-scanning cytometer provided by the grant from ACR. The cytometer will help to quickly detect which gene lesions in a tumor are more likely to be mission-critical so that targeted drugs can be developed to treat patients.
I am so proud of Carol Ann. She and ACR have dedicated themselves to fighting one of the most evil of diseases. Through years of personal commitment, struggles and courage, Carol Ann has helped turn the tide in the battle of finding a cure.
To learn more about ACR, visit :
http://www.aidforcancerresearch.org/acr_home.html
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