Faces
of Philanthropy Photography by ChiChi Ubiña  What is B*CURED? We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization building awareness about brain cancer and funding research into a cure. How did you get involved? We have been friends for many years, playing tennis every Tuesday since our kids were in elementary school together at Parkway School. Melissa’s father passed away from a glioblastoma, the most deadly form of brain cancer, in June, 2002. Five years later, Debbie’s mother received a diagnosis of glioblastoma, passing away in May 2007. In sharing our stories, we realized that there wasn’t much support for patients and families facing this terrible disease and there weren’t many promising treatment options. It didn’t matter who you were or where you lived. The disease is very difficult to treat and the survival rates were discouraging. When did you start it? B*CURED was conceived in late 2007 around our kitchen tables
and many hours spent chatting in the local Starbucks. We
talked about the need to do something about brain cancer
to help other people facing the devastating diagnosis our
parents had both received. We reached out to some of our
closest friends, and local neurosurgeons. It quickly became
evident that they shared the vision and were willing to commit
their talents to get B*CURED off the ground. The consensus
was that it didn’t matter if we started small, as long as
we were making a difference. We sought legal advice, reached
out to many cancer research organizations and within months
had a registered 501c3 organization. B*CURED was a reality. We have assembled a first class Medical Advisory Board drawing on experts from Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Yale, MIT, Brigham and Women’s and Greenwich Hospital to guide us where our funds could best be deployed to support ground-breaking brain cancer research. With their expert help, we made our first research grant in July 2009. It was awarded to a brilliant investigator at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Later that year, we were able to make a second award to an inspiring physician on the cutting edge of cancer vaccine technology at Massachusetts General Hospital. What are your goals for the Project? A “cure” for brain cancer may seem like a far reach but we would be happy to see the day when brain cancer can become a more survivable and more manageable condition. We would consider it a great success to reach the point with brain cancer that scientists and doctors have achieved with breast and prostate cancers: where early detection and an array of treatment options don’t just “buy you time” but actually send the disease into remission and the cancer out of the patient. Do you collaborate with other charities? One of the best synergies, in our minds, would be to find our brain cancer research benefitting research into other types of cancer and vice versa - a rising tide raising all boats. That would be an amazing collaboration! While we wouldn’t rule out a direct collaboration with other
organizations in the future, we are very specific in our
mission for B*CURED. That being said, we would love to work
on a project that benefits all Fairfield County charities
like a Charity Sale Week that would highlight our many fabulous
and hardworking charities in town as well as the generous
and philanthropic spirit of Greenwich. Interested? You can
reach us at info@bcured.org. Do you have any role models? Does anyone in particular inspire you? Have you ever worked with them on a project? Is there a project you have in mind? Our greatest role models are our parents who suffered their illness with such dignity and bravery. Much like Ted Kennedy who so publicly suffered from brain cancer, they never dwelled on the unfairness of the disease but rather “swung for the fences” to try to fight the odds and beat brain cancer. The least we can do is to continue their fight. We also have had great local role models in the Breast Cancer Alliance and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. We like to think that their groundbreaking efforts in fundraising and grant-making represent a road map of where we need to go. We thank them for “sisterly advice” in our efforts. Finally we are inspired by our wonderful friends and families who don’t let us forget, with their words and support, that what we are doing matters. We must cure brain cancer!
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