Members of the Swim Across America family are active in their communities. SAA on the Scene shares stories from the “dry side” of our events where the SAA mission to make waves to defeat cancer is honored and recognized. Feel free to send submissions for future posts here.
Gerry Oakes Swim Across America Lifetime Achievement Award celebration
May 26th
Thank you to Gerry Oakes for nearly 20 years of service. It is our privilege to recognize you with a Lifetime Achievement Award!
Craig Beardsley, Gerry Oakes, Matt Vossler
Gerry Oakes, Matt Vossler
Pam Danbusky reading a letter from Janel Jorgensen McArdle
Nantucket Day Celebration
Rose & Crown, Nantucket, May 11th
In the annual Nantucket Day celebration, the event committee was able to get 25 sign-ups at the event and had some good social media buzz going in the community.
L-R: Jim Pignato (Co-Event Director), Stacey Williams (SAA-Nantucket Volunteer), Jill Roethke (Co-Event Director), Kate Bartleman (Nantucket Cottage Hospital), Kristen Dussault (SAA-Nantucket Committee Member), Charlene Thurston (PASCON), Beth Moyer (Nantucket Cottage Hospital) and Ginnia Faria (PASCON).
Swim Across America Visit to beneficiary Moffitt Cancer Center
Tampa, May 2oth
Rob Butcher, Amy Krakauer, Angie Lankton and family, Dr. Shari Pilon-Thomas, Megan Melgaard, Michael Jorgensen, Ryan Baucom, Eric Wunderlich, Javed Saleemi and Craig Cordell.
San Diego 7-Eleven FOA Golf Tournament
Tampa, May 12th
Mark Gramlich, Susan Davis, Olympian Andrea Dickson, Olympian Ryan Berube, Diana Thomas, Falon Lesczcynski
Your donations allow SAA to provide funding to some of the world’s most renowned cancer institutions. This is the second in a series featuring the SAA LABS that our beneficiaries have named in honor of the efforts of Swim Across America.
This month, we are profiling the Swim Across America Innovative Clinical Trials Center (ICTC) at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas. The trials center was named for SAA in 2013 and features some treatments that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. Dr. Alan M. Miller, MD, PhD and Director of the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center and Carlos Becerra, MD were kind enough to answer some of our questions.
What does the ICTC mean to the doctors and patients that use it?
The Swim Across America Innovative Clinical Trials Center (ICTC) at Baylor University Medical Center is a clinical facility where patients come to receive treatments that are available at only a few specialized centers in the country or may only be available at the ICTC.
These trials provide options for patients whose cancer has resisted standard therapies. Many fall into the category, Phase 1 trials. These require a specialized staff with experience in treating patients with new therapies.
What kind of cancer research is being done in the ICTC?
In the past few years, the physicians and staff of the Swim Across America ICTC have participated in some of the most exciting studies using precision medicine and immunotherapy. Precision medicine involves analyzing the genes of the cancer and applying drugs that specifically target abnormalities in the cancer cells that are not in the individuals’ normal tissue. Immunotherapy harnesses the body’s own immune system to help attack the cancer.
What plans are in store for 2016 and beyond?
An exciting trial starting in 2016 involves the use of a dendritic cell vaccine to treat pancreatic cancer. Dendritic cells are cells of the immune system that identify abnormal cells like a bacteria or a cancer cell and then call in other components of the immune system to attack the invader. This dendritic cell vaccine was developed in the laboratory of the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research and is only available at the ICTC.
“Thanks to the funding from Swim Across America we have been able to explore new and very encouraging therapeutic targets for otherwise deadly diseases such as pancreatic cancer or refractory colon cancer and have been able to provide patients with novel therapies that would not otherwise be possible. We have taken discoveries from the lab of our scientists and tested the concept in the clinic thanks to the support of SAA, an example of translational work done within the walls of Baylor University Medical Center.” – Carlos Becerra, MD
For further information about the Swim Across America ICTC, please view the following video (the ICTC is featured at 3:38) or see more info on all the studies to the trials currently going on here.
The fourth annual SMAC Out Cancer Pool Swim was another great success, raising over $84K and counting at the San Mateo Athletic. This year’s swim featured 11 fun events, seven Olympians, and honored multiple heroes in the fight against cancer.
The four-year total raised by SMAC Out Cancer stands at an incredible $296K to fund cancer research at beneficiaries UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. Congrats to event director Diana Thomas for putting together another great event this year.
The 2016 swim was named in memory of Jim Keller, who lost his battle with cancer in January. Keller was regarded as a brilliant and caring man that was a huge supporter of the San Mateo Athletic Club. He’s pictured here with Olympian Heather Petri in 2015.
The impact of the event was evident when the Olympians got to meet Wills Levy, a young hero that saved his brother’s life with a bone marrow transplant. The incredible and moving story of his younger brother Andrew’s battle with a rare and deadly cancer and unlikely recovery is featured in this emotional New York Times Magazine article. Olympians at the event included: Craig Beardsley, Mike Bruner, Susan Heon Preston, Roque Santos, Glenn Mills, Ellen Estes and Christine Magnuson.
Wills Levy (center) with Olympians at SMAC
The event features fun events not usually associated with SAA pool swims including an aqua aerobics boot camp, and out-of-water fitness challenge and a dance party. Check out the whole photo library to see all the breathtaking images from the event. If you’re interested in starting a pool swim in your community, learn more here.
Members of the Swim Across America family are active in their communities. SAA on the Scene shares stories from the “dry side” of our events where the SAA mission to make waves to defeat cancer is honored and recognized. Feel free to send submissions for future posts here.
Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) Discovery Celebration
Harvard Club (New York) – April 14
Greenwich-Stamford co-chairs Michele Graham and Lorrie Lorenz, and SAA Director of Events Craig Beardsley were in attendance to learn how dollars granted to ACGT are defeating cancer.
Swim Across America AYA Lounge One-Year Anniversary Celebration
Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa) – April 26
SAA – Tampa Event Director Rob Shapiro and committee members Alicia Reyes-Shapiro, Tony Scicchitano, Janice Scicchitano and Olivia Fridgen participated in the one-year anniversary of the Adolescent and Young Adult Lounge opening. We profiled AYA in our lab series profile.
SAA – Long Island Sound Swim Kickoff Event
Larchmont Yacht Club – April 27
The 24th annual Long Island Sound Open Water Swim Kickoff event took place on April 27th. Beneficiary representatives from Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Columbia University Medical Center and Cancer Support Team attended the event. Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD (of MSK) and Dr. Andrew Kung, MD PhD (of CUMC) spoke at the event sharing breakthroughs being made to defeat cancer in their labs.
Craig Beardsley (SAA Director of Events), Jean Fufidio, Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD, Dr. Sadna Budhu PhD, Tony Sibio (SAA – LIS chair and event director)
Robyn Gartrell MD, Dr. Andrew Kung, MD PhD, Lucille Winton, Katie Shields, Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD, Dr. Sadna Budhu PhD, Dr. James Garvin MD PhD, Tony Sibio (SAA – Larchmont chair and event director)
Your donations allow SAA to provide funding to some of the world’s most renowned cancer institutions. This is the first in a series featuring the SAA LABS that our beneficiaries have named in honor of the efforts of Swim Across America.
Swim Across America Adolescent & Young Adult Lounge
This month, we are profiling the Swim Across America Adolescent and Young Adult Lounge at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in April 2015 (featuring Tampa Bay Open Water Swim Event Director Rob Shapiro, former SAA CEO Janel Jorgensen-McArdle and current SAA CEO Rob Butcher). The SAA AYA Lounge is used by the approximately 100 young adult cancer patients at the hospital every day. Olivia Fridgen, AYA and LATTE Program Coordinator at Moffitt provided this insight.
How has the reception been to the SAA AYA Lounge by patients?
The reception from patients has been amazing. The corkboard wall on the lounge shows patient artwork, the white board has encouragement from patient to patient and the lounge journal has pages and pages of thoughts and inspirational words. It has been a respite for inpatients who need a change of scenery, as a place to spend time with their family and friends who come to visit and a great spot for the AYA (Adolescent and Young Adults) Program to host events and support groups.
Since the SAA AYA Lounge is different from other research-based SAA Labs, what interesting facts can you pass along? We are the 1st AYA Lounge in Florida, the 3rd in the country. We are also unique because our lounge provides physical space not only for our inpatients but our outpatients as well. Some of the traditional lounges are built in conjunction with inpatient units and therefore are not accessible to outpatients. Another unique mention is that our Moffitt AYA Patients actually designed the entire space – they picked out color schemes, fabrics, flooring and lighting so that we were confident our lounge was hitting the mark and what AYA patients would actually want in a space.
Do patients get treatment in the SAA AYA Lounge?
No, the lounge is a place to get away from the hustle bustle of the hospital life. The Lounge has the latest gaming systems, comfy couches, white boards, board games and art supplies. The inpatient floors of the hospital, where admitted patients would receive treatment, is steps away which provides convenience and access to the lounge.
How much did it cost to build the SAA AYA Lounge?
SAA has donated nearly $140,000 to the AYA program over the years and monies from the 2014 race were specifically designated to the creation of the SAA AYA Lounge.
Does the AYA Group anticipate this to be a trend in hospital systems moving forward?
Yes, organizations like Teen Cancer America are working with AYA Programs across the country to fund and offer physical spaces in hospitals for young cancer patients.
Why is it important for Moffitt and other hospitals to have a lounge for adolescent and young adults?
Adolescent and Young Adult patients feel like they are the only 20- or 30-year-old in the entire hospital. While we know that isn’t true, each patient is seen in their respective clinic (for example, if you have breast cancer you’re seen in the Breast Clinic, if you have Lung Cancer you’re seen in Thoracic, etc.), so they never get the chance to run into one another. The Lounge provides a space where Young Adult cancer patients can actually meet another young person with cancer. Because it’s in a communal space, it’s less awkward, more organic and can reduce the feelings of isolation many AYAs feel, which is important to their psychosocial state of mind and also can create lasting friendships. Many of our patients say that family and friends are extremely supportive, but no one quite “gets it” like another young cancer patient.
This month, we are profiling the Swim Across America Innovative Clinical Trials Center (ICTC) at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas. The trials center was named for SAA in 2013 and features some treatments that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. Dr. Alan M. Miller, MD, PhD and Director of the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center and Carlos Becerra, MD were kind enough to answer some of our questions. 
Swim Across America 