Among Friends – Getting to know Dan Blum, MD Anderson Cancer Center Advance Team member

What role has cancer played in your life?

Cancer has shaped my life in many ways. I hate, in all of its insidious forms, with a passion. It’s either stolen or inflicted unimaginable suffering on too many dear people in my life. It took my mom at age 60. Several years later, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and two years after that, my sister also was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

My first experience with MD Anderson happened while my mom was undergoing bile duct cancer treatment. My family and I were all blown away by the genuine caring and compassion that everyone from the receptionists to the surgeons exuded every day in their care for my sweet mom.

In the years since my mom’s cancer treatment, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know many of the doctors, researchers and administrators at MD Anderson. I see how tirelessly they work every day toward the ultimate goal of eliminating cancer. In the meantime, they work to heal and care for extremely sick cancer patients and their suffering families.

As a member of the Advance Team, what do you tell people about MD Anderson?

If you have cancer, this is where you want to be. MD Anderson treats more people with your type of cancer than anywhere else. When dealing with something as scary and overwhelming as cancer, the one thing you don’t want to regret is the place you’ve chosen for cancer treatment. By going to MD Anderson, you take that fear off your plate and you can be confident that you’re going to be surrounded by people who really care about you.

You’ve inspired many Advance Team members with you work on the Houston D10 decathlon. Tell us about it.

The D10 is a national tour that uses high-level athletic competition to raise funds for pediatric cancer research. Here in Houston, the D10 benefits MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, one of the Advance Team’s primary areas of support. Instead of endurance activities, it’s more focused on weightlifting, speed and agility. It’s a great opportunity to appeal to people’s innate competiveness while raising money for a great cause. I have joined the Houston D10 board and will be competing again this year, Nov. 3 at Rice University.

Education: Vanderbilt University, Bachelor of Arts; New York University Stern School of Business, Master of Business Administration
Occupation: Glenhaven Capital LLC, manager
Advance Team Member: May 2017 – present