Monday, March 5, 1:38 a.m.
The GW Cancer Institute drew in big names and a large crowd for its Fifth Annual Gala at the National Building Museum Saturday night.
South African apartheid activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu was one of five distinguished guests honored at the black-tie fundraiser, where more than 650 people celebrated the institute’s achievements in cancer research and prevention.
“Our world is a world that is aching. God’s hope is for healing,” said Tutu, a cancer survivor. “You at GW and the Institute are part of that movement of compassion and caring to extend God’s movement to fix what is damaged and broken.”
The institute works in tandem with the GW Hospital and the GW Medical Faculty Associates to research, treat and prevent cancer within the District – which has one of the highest cancer rates in the country. They also provide a number of community outreach programs to administer free tests and treatment to local citizens.
Sean Swarner, another honoree of the night, is the only known person to be diagnosed with both Hodgkin’s disease and Askin’s Sarcoma. He is the first cancer survivor to climb Mount Everest, in addition to the tallest mountains on each continent.
The GW Cancer Institute also honored some of its own, including Robert Siegel, director of hematology and oncology at GW Hospital. His wife, Paula, was also recognized for having the longest tenure of any nurse at the GW outpatient center.
Recognition of the institute’s work continued throughout the evening. The Avon Foundation donated $500,000 to the institute, and a letter of praise from President George Bush was read and displayed for the audience.
“Cancer effects are seen no where more than in D.C.,” University President Steven Knapp said. “The GW Cancer Institute is providing a national model of an academic health center that can help the community.”
The institute’s “Mammovan,” a mobile mammography vehicle, has treated more than 20,000 women in the District since 1996. They have also offered more then 2,000 free prostate screenings.
