For Immediate Release
January 28, 2006

Ted Kennedy, Jr. Receives Gilda Radner Courage Award
at All Star Night Gala for Roswell Park Cancer Institute

(BUFFALO, NY) — In 1973, while just 12 years old, Ted Kennedy, Jr. inspired America while bravely fighting osteosarcoma — a type of bone cancer that claimed part of his right leg before chemotherapy led him to complete remission. This evening, he was honored by Roswell Park Cancer Institute with the Gilda Radner Courage Award for serving as an example of hope for others, and for his lifelong advocacy for cancer patients and persons with disabilities.

Kennedy was the featured honoree at the 16th annual All Star Night black-tie gala, presented by HSBC and the Roswell Park Alliance Community Advisory Board, at Buffalo’s Adam’s Mark Hotel. A sold-out crowd of 1,200 guests helped to honor him, and two additional honorees, while raising an estimated $510,000 for groundbreaking cancer research and compassionate patient care programs at the Institute.

During the event, Clement Ip, PhD, a pioneer and an acknowledged world leader in cancer chemoprevention, received the Dr. Thomas B. Tomasi Achievement Award. Throughout Dr. Ip’s 31-year career at Roswell Park, he has focused his work on the mechanisms by which agents such as selenium (a trace nutrient in food) and conjugated linoleic acid (found in dairy products) may prevent or treat cancer.

Patrick P. Lee, the first Chairman of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation Board of Directors (formed in 1998), received the Katherine Anne Gioia Inspiration Award. Lee is credited with helping to lead Roswell Park’s renaissance “to be the best, offer the best, and acquire the best.”

Following a James Bond-inspired, License to Cure theme, the event also included casino-style games, Bond trivia contests, and a live auction. Additional funds were raised during the auction to help upgrade RPCI’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance resource, technology needed for collaborative research by RPCI’s Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, focused on developing a screening test to identify ovarian cancer biomarkers circulating in the blood (while the disease is still in an early, more treatable stage).

After his remission from cancer, Ted Kennedy, Jr. — who had participated in a clinical trial to help increase cure rates — went on to an active, healthy life, and a successful legal career. He has devoted much of his time to helping organizations develop psychological support and empowerment programs for cancer patients.

In addition, Kennedy has worked on behalf of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Facing the Challenge, the Special Olympics, Very Special Arts, American Association of Persons with Disabilities and the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. He has taught disability policy as a fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government; and has worked with both policy makers and the corporate world to expand job opportunities for people with disabilities.

Kennedy is currently president of the Marwood Group, a healthcare-focused investment bank with an asset management division.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. For more information, visit the RPCI website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.

The Roswell Park Alliance Community Advisory Board, founded in 1990, is a volunteer membership organization that raises funds year-round to support scientific and clinical research, state-of-the-art medical care, and patient-related activities at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

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