Testicular Cancer Expert To Speak at Carol Bell Lectureship
at UNMC on Sept. 15
Lawrence Einhorn, M.D., one of the physicians who successfully treated
Lance Armstrong, the 1999 Tour de France winner, for testicular cancer
will deliver the second Carol Bell Lectureship at the University of Nebraska
Medical Center on Sept. 15. Dr. Einhorn is distinguished professor of medicine
at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis and is president-elect
of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
The lectureship was initiated with gifts to the University of Nebraska
Foundation honoring Carol Bell, who died of cancer in August 1997. She
was the wife of Bob Bell, president of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
“Carol had an absolute will to live,” Bell said. “She openly shared
her experiences with others. The lectureship allows us to continue her
efforts of educating others about cancer and stressing the importance of
early detection.”
The Carol Bell Lectureship will be held every two years. It will bring
a nationally recognized cancer authority to UNMC with each lecture focusing
on a different area of cancer and cancer research. Donald Coffey, Ph.D.,
a Johns Hopkins University prostate cancer expert and past president of
the American Association for Cancer Research, delivered the first lecture
in 1998.
This year’s lecture will be held at noon at the Wittson Hall Amphitheater
on the UNMC campus. Dr. Einhorn also will speak at a fund raising dinner
at the Joslyn Museum in the evening. The dinner will be attended by about
200 community leaders and will be hosted by Michael and Gail Yanney.
Michael Yanney is chief executive officer of America First Companies in
Omaha. Gail Yanney is the immediate past president of the UNMC College
of Medicine Alumni Association. The dinner will showcase the outstanding
cancer research and treatment program at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
The Carol Bell Lectureship will rotate each year with the Ambassador
of Hope Award as a premier fund raising event for the UNMC Eppley Cancer
Center. The Ambassador of Hope Award recognizes individuals who have
made a significant contribution in the fight against cancer through their
research or patient care activities or by raising the public’s awareness
of cancer. The first award was presented in 1998 to Retired Army Gen. H.
Norman Schwarzkopf, a prostate cancer survivor who led U.S. troops in the
1990 Persian Gulf War.
“We are thrilled to have a speaker of Dr. Einhorn’s stature,” said Ken
Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. “He is recognized
as one of the leading experts in the country in testicular cancer and has
played a key role in taking it from a devastating disease to a highly curable
disease. He’s been a key figure in establishing chemotherapy protocols
for treating testicular cancer. His election as president of ASCO is certainly
indicative of the high esteem in which Dr. Einhorn is held among cancer
specialists.”
Testicular cancer occurs in about 7,400 males every year, according
to the American Cancer Society, but thanks to effective treatment regimens
only about 300 people die each year from the disease.
As one of the physicians who treated Armstrong in 1996-97 after his
testicular cancer had spread to the brain, Dr. Einhorn has received considerable
national media attention. He was recently featured in the Aug. 9 issue
of Sports Illustrated after Armstrong won this year’s Tour de France.
A Dayton, Ohio native, Dr. Einhorn earned his undergraduate degree from
Indiana University and his medical degree from the University of Iowa.
He has served on the Indiana University Medical Center faculty since 1971,
being named assistant professor in 1973, associate professor in 1976, professor
in 1979 and distinguished professor in 1987.
Dr. Einhorn has published more than 300 articles in scientific journals
and been a contributing writer on nearly 70 textbooks. Among his many honors,
he received the Presidential Medal of Honor from Indiana University in
1996 and the Teaching Excellence Award in 1998 from Indiana University
School of Medicine. He will begin his term as president of ASCO in 2000.
With 12,000 members, ASCO is the largest association of cancer researchers
and clinicians in the United States.
Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns has proclaimed Sept. 15 as Carol Bell Cancer
Awareness Day, and the mayors of several surrounding communities have made
similar proclamations.
“We are indebted to the friends of Carol Bell who helped create this
lectureship,” Dr. Cowan said. “Bob Bell has been just incredible in rallying
community support for our cancer program.”
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute designated
cancer center a distinction held by only 55 centers in the country. Of
the $34.3 million in competitive, external research grants and contracts
awarded to UNMC in 1997-98, cancer-related research accounted for about
one-half of that amount.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment and solid organ transplantation. UNMC’s educational
programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing
in Nebraska than any other institution.
The University of Nebraska Foundation is a non-profit corporation supplementing
support for students, faculty, facilities and programs at the University
of Nebraska’s four campuses through gifts from alumni, friends, corporations
and other foundations.
A special web site will be developed for the Carol Bell Lectureship.
It can be accessed via the UNMC web site at www.unmc.edu or the Community
Section of Omaha.com. UNMC will conduct live broadcasts of the noon lecture
and a news conference at 2 p.m. featuring Drs. Cowan and Einhorn. The public
is invited to view these events via the Internet.