Cattlemen for Cancer Research to host annual auction Oct. 21

Fundraiser fuels fight to end cancer   

MD Anderson News Release October 16, 2017

Cattlemen for Cancer Research (CCR) will hold its 19th annual auction Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Hills Prairie Livestock Auction Company, 1177 Hwy. 304 in Bastrop, Texas. The fundraiser will benefit the Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Festivities include a complimentary lunch, silent auction, children’s arts and crafts tent and live cattle auction. New this year, a washer pitching tournament will be available at $40/team. Registration opens at 10 a.m., with the tournament beginning at 11 a.m. and the cattle auction commencing at 2 p.m.

Cattlemen for Cancer Research also will recognize MD Anderson’s David Rice, M.D.,  professor,  Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery; and TaCharra Woodard, advanced practice registered nurse,  Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Rice and Woodard are co-recipients of CCR’s eighth annual “Hero Award,” which celebrates MD Anderson clinicians and researchers for outstanding contributions in patient care for Central Texas residents.

Since joining MD Anderson in 2001, Rice has provided the best and latest in surgical care to patients with thoracic malignancies. He has been active in significantly expanding the role of video assisted thorascopic (VATS) surgery in thoracic malignancies and was the first surgeon to perform a minimally invasive esophagectomy at the institution.

Woodard has more than 17 years of experience as a nurse practitioner and has received numerous honors for excellence in nursing. With each patient in her care, she continually strives to carry out MD Anderson’s mission to end cancer in Texas, the nation and the world.

CCR also will honor cancer survivor and Central Texas resident Jesse Purdy, who is a patient of Rice and Woodard. Purdy was a psychology professor for nearly 40 years at Southwestern University in Georgetown before he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, in June 2016. He was referred to MD Anderson, where he met his care team, Rice and Woodard.

Purdy is grateful to MD Anderson after a series of complications led to the expert removal of his esophagus and stomach by Rice and his team. He hopes the lessons learned from his complex case will help enhance care for future patients at MD Anderson. As a researcher who has collected and analyzed data his entire career, Purdy is proud that his own personal data is contributing to MD Anderson’s efforts in Making Cancer History®.

Cattlemen for Cancer Research

In 1999, a group of caring and committed Central Texans combined their love of ranching with their desire to help neighbors affected by cancer and established CCR. Its annual cattle auction has raised more than $1.8 million to advance research initiatives and programs at the Keeling Center, which provides comparative research in animal models to aid in understanding and preventing cancer.

“I’m blown away each year by the immense generosity and friendship from the Cattlemen for Cancer Research,” said Christian Abee, D.VM., director of the Keeling Center. “Their support directly impacts the cancer patients we serve in our community and is crucial to our mission to end cancer.”

CCR maintains a separate fund totaling more than $360,000  for financial assistance for cancer patients from Bastrop, Hays, Lee, Travis and Williamson counties. Patients receive support for lodging, meals and transportation expenses incurred during treatment at MD Anderson’s main campus in Houston.

For more information on this year’s cattle auction, call 512-321-3991.