Cancer touches the lives of too many in our state. With over 25,000 new diagnoses expected this year alone, cancer is silently and aggressively claiming lives in Louisiana. There are more than 200 cancer researchers on the LCRC faculty, all of whom are advancing discoveries in therapies to improve patient outcomes and reduce the impact of this killer in our state. Your donation to the Louisiana Cancer Research Center directly supports the work of preeminent scientists at LSU Health New Orleans, Tulane School of Medicine, Xavier University of Louisiana and Ochsner Health as they make inroads into this deadly killer.
Keith Clement is a builder and knows what it takes for big projects to come together.
He was involved in the construction of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in New Orleans and insists “a cure to cancer will be discovered in this building.”
“Everyone is somehow affected by cancer,” Keith says. His own mother courageously fought breast cancer for seven years, before succumbing to the disease. “It was heartbreaking to watch her experience such a wide variety of side effects. When asked why she continued with chemotherapy and a clinical trial, she said she was doing it for her daughter, her granddaughters, and future generations in hopes to find a cure.”
With tens of thousands of new diagnoses every year in Louisiana, many families share Keith’s personal connection to the ravages of cancer. He feels empowered in the fight against cancer, knowing that the work of LCRC researchers will eventually help someone with cancer.
It certainly does require a team to pursue advances that support cancer therapies and donor support like Keith’s makes it possible.
"There is not one person that I know that has not been touched by cancer in some way or shape or form," said Kolleen Herndon of New Orleans.
As past president of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Louisiana which includes 5,600 auxiliaries and almost 5,000 members, she selected the Louisiana Cancer Research Center as beneficiary of the organization's annual fundraising initiative. The statewide VFW auxiliary has a tradition of supporting cancer and research programs in the state.
Ms. Herndon was joined by auxiliary officers Mary Johnson and Margaret Nixon to present a check of more than $6,500 to LCRC Scientific Co-Directors Prescott Deininger, PhD and Augusto Ochoa, MD. LCRC Chief Operating Officer Sven Davisson and LCRC Chief Financial Officer Deborah Reeder also welcomed the auxiliary representatives.
Corporate and organizational support is an important source of fundraising for the LCRC. If your organization interested in donating to the LCRC, contact Jameson MacDonnell at 504-210-1022.
