Triple Play
Trio of gifts supports blood cancer and bone marrow transplant research
Bone marrow transplants rely on bone marrow donors to make the lifesaving procedures possible. Behind the scenes, one of the nation’s top transplant programs relies on a different kind of donation to fund the research that keeps it on the leading edge.
Recognized for its pioneering work and record of success, UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Hematologic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Transplantation Program has a reputation for excellent patient care and groundbreaking research. To date, physicians affiliated with the Program have performed more than 1,800 bone marrow transplants, achieving the leading survival rate for adult bone marrow transplants in Texas.
Robert H. Collins Jr., M.D., a Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern who directs the Program, credits the institution’s community of supporters with enabling his team to make a difference in patients’ lives.
“I feel a tremendous sense of gratitude to our philanthropic supporters who make it possible for us to give outstanding personalized, targeted cancer therapy,” he said.
The program is part of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in North Texas. UT Southwestern is one of nine U.S. hospitals participating in the most advanced phases of clinical trials of using CAR T-cell therapy to treat multiple myeloma.
A form of immunotherapy that can also help treat leukemia and lymphoma, CAR T-cell therapy adapts a patient’s T-cells, a type of white blood cell, to bind to specific proteins on cancer cells. This reprograms the T-cells to recognize and attack the patient’s cancer.
Leading this research is Larry Anderson Jr., M.D., Ph.D., a senior member of Dr. Collins’ team and an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine. Dr. Anderson echoed his colleague’s thoughts on the impact of philanthropy.
“We wouldn’t be able to fully support our clinical trial program without this generous support,” said Dr. Anderson, who is also Director of the Myeloma, Waldenstrom’s, and Amyloidosis Program.
For her friends
Longtime donor Sue Siddons DuVall often thinks about the impact of UT Southwestern. But when she made her most recent gift of $250,000 to support Dr. Collins’ leukemia research, she had a special group of people in mind.
“Recently, three of my friends faced the daunting challenge of a cancer diagnosis,” said Mrs. DuVall, who gave in their honor. “However, when I heard that they were being cared for at UT Southwestern by Dr. Collins and Dr. Anderson, I knew they were in the best of hands.”
A family legacy
Synonymous with men’s clothing, the name Haggar also represents an enduring legacy of giving to UT Southwestern. With its recent donation, the J.M. Haggar Jr. Family Foundation continued its generosity by supporting Dr. Anderson’s multiple myeloma research.
“Dr. Anderson is a brilliant man,” said Joe Haggar III, whose grandfather founded the namesake clothing company. “He is calm, positive, and always gives you hope concerning the disease for which he is treating you. We all assume multiple myeloma is undefeated, but Dr. Anderson is taking it into overtime. He has saved and prolonged many lives.”
Given with gratitude
Currently undergoing treatment at UT Southwestern, Roland Bandy and his family credited the success of his care to Dr. Anderson’s blood cancer research. Through the Bandy Family Fund, the Dallas-based real estate investor and his family expressed their gratitude with $125,000 in gifts to support the work that positively impacts so many lives.
“I have been a patient of Dr. Anderson’s for more than 18 months, and I have come to understand that Dr. ‘A’ is not only a brilliant doctor, but he cares deeply for his patients,” Mr. Bandy said.
Dr. Collins holds the Sydney and J.L. Huffines Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research in Honor of Eugene Frenkel, M.D., and the H. Lloyd and Willye V. Skaggs Professorship in Medical Research.
