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Summer 2016 : National cancer moonshot summit

National Cancer Moonshot Summit

'A bad day for cancer'

In April, at the Third International Conference on the Progress of Regenerative Medicine and Its Cultural Impact in Rome, Ronald DePinho, M.D., president of MD Anderson, meets with Vice President Joe Biden on the Moon Shots Program and its practice-changing advances. Photo by David Lienemann.

MD Anderson was among more than 270 organizations across the country participating in Vice President Joe Biden's June 29 National Cancer Moonshot Summit. Nearly 300 people - patients and survivors, researchers, physicians, health care workers, advocates, Board of Visitors and Advance Team members, and data and technology experts - attended the MD Anderson event.

"It's a bad day for cancer," said Ronald DePinho, M.D., president, in welcoming remarks as he expressed the institution's enthusiastic support for the national effort to double progress against cancer over the next five years. DePinho took the opportunity to highlight advances generated by MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program since it launched in 2012.

In live-streamed remarks from Washington, D.C., Vice President Biden called for increased collaboration, innovation and data sharing. He also shared his family's personal journey and referred to MD Anderson as "an incredible organization."

The event concluded with a panel discussion offering diverse perspectives and covering such topics as the need to share data and collaborate with community hospitals, industry and other organizations; the importance of voting to support the renewal of funding for the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas; and the recent work of the HPV-related Cancers Moon Shot to increase vaccination rates.

Panelists at MD Anderson’s Cancer Moonshot Summit, from left: J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, M.D., deputy chief medical officer, American Cancer Society; Chris Belmont, vice president and chief information officer; Bree Sandlin, cancer survivor; Ronald DePinho, M.D., president; Rep. Sarah Davis, Texas House of Representatives; Patrick Hwu, M.D., division head, Cancer Medicine; Lois Ramondetta, M.D., professor, Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, and co-leader, HPV-related Cancers Moon Shot; Devon Still, Houston Texans defensive lineman and founder of Still Strong Foundation. Photo by F. Carter Smith.

Cancer Moonshot Summit hosted by MD Anderson

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Kara Million, of Houston, is a mother of two and a two-time cancer survivor. A volunteer for myCancerConnection and an advocate for raising awareness about the human papillomavirus (HPV), Kara says the Moon Shots Program will be key to ending cancer for good.

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Native Houstonian Kelli Kickerillo knows a thing or two about a successful event. As chair of the 2015 Houston A Conversation With a Living Legend®, Kelli and her husband, Todd Forester, raised more than $1 million for MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program. Kelli serves as events chair for MD Anderson's Advance Team, a volunteer board of "next generation" community and business leaders. No matter what the event, Kelli and her family remain focused on Making Cancer History® for cancer patients and survivors around the world.

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Lauren Erdmann, of Midland, is a three-time cancer survivor. She enjoys spending time with her family, including the newest addition: a sister-in-law. She also enjoys working at her parents' business, Advance Kwik Lube. Erdmann has traveled to Cancun and Hawaii with her family, and they plan a cruise to Alaska and Canada later this year.

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Jan Bres' husband, Tom, died at 54 from glioblastoma. During his 15-month fight, Tom and Jan learned of The Broach Foundation for Brain Cancer Research, founded in 2011 by James and Jamie Broach after James was diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer. James, who died in 2013, and Jamie made it their mission to promote funding and education so effective treatments, and ultimately a cure, might be found. The nonprofit has raised $4 million to support brain cancer research under the leadership of Frederick Lang, M.D., director of Clinical Research, Neurosurgery.