One of the darkest words anyone will ever hear is “you have cancer,” but on Tuesday, May 22nd more than 70 guests heard of exciting new therapies and customized treatment options that raise hope for finding a cure.
Northern Trust President of Florida John Fumagalli, Alex Adams, Senior Market Executive Miami/Dade County, and VP of Marketing Diane Cruz, hosted The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS)Light the Night Campaign Executive Committee and local business leaders at their Brickell office for an informative luncheon on the ongoing progress in the war on cancer and the need for further research.
Dr. Michael J. Zinner, Founding CEO of Miami Cancer Institute, and Honorary Chair of the Light the Night Campaign, welcomed guests before Dr. Guenther Koehne, Chief of Hematologic Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation at Miami Cancer Institute and the 2018 Chairman of LLS Light the Night Campaign, took the podium to speak about the rapidly developing field of immunotherapies, precision medicine and their impact on a variety of hematologic malignancies.
An internationally renowned physician scientist, Dr. Koehne was a recipient of a LLS grant in 2000-2003 himself. Known for his work in immunotherapies, he also pioneered a novel vaccine to treat patients with multiple myeloma which was most recently granted FDA approval for this disease. During his speech, he praised the nonprofit’s pivotal work in research and patient support speaking passionately from the perspective of an oncologist who bears witness to the emotional toll placed on patients and their families.
Stephen L. Smith, Incoming Chairman of LLS’s Southern Florida Board of Trustees moved the audience with his emotional story of love and loss and personal dedication to the cause.
“Northern Trust is proud to continue its long term commitment to support various nonprofits that are making a positive impact on the lives of those in our communities. Cancer is a disease that effects all of us in one form or another, and it was our privilege to underwrite this event and help further the Society’s ever important mission,” said John Fumagalli.
Among the notable guests were: Alejandro Mendieta, Al Peraza, Arnaud Sitbon, Marta Yee and Robert Vinas, Lisa Marie Browne, Kristen Munroe, Rudy Kranys and Louis Russell, Charlotte Hicks, Terri and Mike Josephs, Lauren Harrison, Joyce and Ricardo Gonzalez, Judi Katzen, Mary Snow, Orion Gornes, Janelle and Mike Patty, Elena Bluntzer, Venny Torre, Tomas Erban, Lubby Navarro, Genie Legorburu, and David and Kathy Nateman.
“We are so grateful to Northern Trust for their generosity supporting us with this opportunity to showcase the work we do and encourage others to get involved. This luncheon is critical to help us get the word out and set the stage to raise the bar, so that we can meet our financial goals for our most important fundraiser, Light the Night,” said DeAnnHazey, Executive Director, LLS, South Florida.
The luncheon is a precursor to the 2018 Light the Night Campaign, a nationwide fundraising event taking place Nov. 3 at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. More than 5,000 people including corporate and family teams who have been touched by cancer will gather to walk in an emotional and uplifting evening that aims to shine light on one of life’s darkest moments.
Together, they join a massive community of approximately 1 million people at 150 inspirational evening walks across the U.S. and Canada to end cancer.For more information please contact Hebe.Occupati@lls.org
About LLS
A 501 charitable organization, LLS was founded in1949 and serves as the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer. For more than 68 years LLS has invested more than $1.2 billion to accelerate the development of new therapies.
