Society of Surgical Oncology presents the James Ewing Layman Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2008

(PHOENIX, AZ) One year after she and her husband, Richard, lost their five-year-old daughter, Katherine, to cancer in 1989, Buffalonian Anne Gioia and her sister-in-law, Donna Gioia, turned a family tragedy into a crusade to save lives. Now 20 years later, they have been honored by the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) with the James Ewing Layman Award for their tireless leadership raising awareness and funds for the cancer cause.

The award—named for the late James Ewing, MD, the SSO’s founder, and the physician and researcher who is widely regarded as the “Father of Oncology”—was presented on Saturday, March 7 at 8:30 pm at the SSO’s 62nd annual Cancer Symposium in the Hyatt Regency Phoenix Hotel. It is presented annually to a non-physician who has made significant contributions to improving the lives of cancer patients. Previous winners include golf legend Arnold Palmer, General H. Norman Schwartzkopf, former White House Chief of Staff Vernon Jordan and Evelyn Lauder, corporate vice president of The Estee Lauder Companies, among others.

Anne and Donna Gioia galvanized volunteers from across their Buffalo community to form the Roswell Park Alliance in 1990 in support of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI)—America’s first cancer center. RPCI, then operated under the New York State Department of Health, was facing significant economic and capital improvement challenges that jeopardized its future.

The Gioia family and the volunteers they recruited—each touched by cancer in their lives—were instrumental to the success of the first-ever fundraising program in the Institute’s history. The group became the lynchpin needed to successfully lobby Albany legislators starting in 1992 for an unprecedented $241 million major modernization for RPCI. The Alliance also began rallying behind Roswell Park’s research, recruitment and patient needs. The volunteers’ efforts have since raised over $180 million and counting—despite Buffalo’s ranking as one of America’s poorest cities.

In addition to their volunteer work, the Gioias have dedicated their own resources to the cause. The Gioia family recently gave a $1 million gift to establish an endowed chair in Cancer Medicine at Roswell Park, held by Alex Adjei, MD, PhD. Anne also wrote a book, Bobo’s Just Fine, for children with cancer. It has been distributed free of charge to schools and hospitals as far away as Singapore.

“This award is being presented in honor of the Gioias’ passionate leadership, and the spirit of their volunteers within the City of Good Neighbors,” said William Cance, MD, current President of the SSO, Chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology and Surgeon-In-Chief at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “We hope that the Gioias’ story inspires others across our country to continue making a difference in the cancer fight to find the cures we all seek.”
Among the Alliance’s past and continued achievements are The Ride For Roswell, which now draws 8,500 cyclists and volunteers to raise over $2 million dollars annually; The Paint Box Project® card and gift sale featuring artwork by pediatric cancer patients; and All Star Night galas featuring national cancer advocates.

In partnership with the spinoff Roswell Park Alliance Foundation (a not-for-profit organization formed in 1991), the group also raised $21 million for RPCI’s first-ever capital campaign, Horizons of Hope. Donations for the campaign came from over 8,400 individuals and were combined with $41 million in previously committed New York State funding to complete construction of a Center for Genetics and Pharmacology in 2006. The Center is magnifying Roswell Park’s ability to collaboratively develop new prevention and anticancer therapies for patients across America and the world.

The Society of Surgical Oncology was founded in 1940 to broaden the study of cancer.  Its more than 2,200 members include physicians trained in the comprehensive management of cancer patients.  SSO members encompass all surgical specialties and disease sites, including breast, gastrointestinal, melanoma, liver and pancreatic, head and neck, bone and soft tissue, and endocrine.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center. The Institute was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.  

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