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Robin Roberts |
The gala, which is hosted by the Friends of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, is held every two years and is one of the top fundraising events in the city. In 2006, when legendary newscaster Tom Brokaw was honored, the event raised nearly $1.6 million for the cancer center.
“We are absolutely thrilled to get Robin Roberts for this event,” said Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. “She’s truly a hero to women around the country. Since being diagnosed with breast cancer last year, she has been very visible and open in talking about her experience. She has discussed her hair loss and has taken her wig off when she’s on camera. I saw a story on her in People magazine, and it showed her walking down the runway of a fashion show without her wig.
“The gala is all about giving people hope, and that is clearly what Robin is all about. She embodies hope, and she will deliver a strong message that cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence. She’s living proof.”
The Ambassador of Hope Award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions in the fight against cancer through research, patient care activities or by raising public awareness of cancer. This marks the fifth time the award has been given. In addition to Brokaw, previous recipients of the Ambassador of Hope Award include Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Sam Donaldson and Chuck Durham.
Like the 2006 gala, this year’s gala will be televised via satellite to one or more communities in Greater Nebraska, Dr. Cowan said. Scottsbluff will definitely receive the satellite feed, he said, and possibly other communities will be added. These participating communities will hold their own fundraising events for the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
Roberts, who first started reporting for “Good Morning America” in 1995, was named co-anchor of GMA in May 2005. Her co-anchors are Diane Sawyer, Sam Champion and Chris Cuomo. She announced that she had breast cancer last July. She has since undergone surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation. She wore a wig while undergoing treatment, but for the past couple months, she has stopped wearing the wig.
Roberts first made a name for herself on a national level when she worked for ESPN from 1990 to 2005. Her ESPN assignments included hosting “SportsCenter,” contributing to “NFL PrimeTime” and providing reports and interviews from the field.
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A 1983 honors graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La., Roberts was a standout performer on the women’s basketball team, ending her career as the school’s third all-time leading scorer (1,446 points) and rebounder (1,034). She is one of the only three Lady Lions to score 1,000 career points and grab 1,000 career rebounds.
Before joining ESPN in 1990, Roberts held reporter and anchor positions at TV stations in Hattiesburg, Miss., Biloxi, Miss., Nashville, Tenn., and Atlanta.
Among her numerous awards, Roberts received the annual Distinguished Achievement Award in Broadcasting in 1996 from the University of Georgia’s DiGamma Kappa, the nation’s oldest professional broadcasting society; was named a “Louisiana Legend” by Louisiana Public Broadcasting in 2001; and was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Women’s Institute on Sport and Education. She also won three Emmy Awards for her work at ESPN.
In 2007, Roberts came out with her first book, “From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By.”
With the proceeds raised from the Ambassador of Hope Gala, Dr. Cowan said he hopes to develop a statewide breast cancer registry.
“We would be the first state in the country to have such a registry,” he said. “Nebraska has the 10th highest rate of breast cancer in the country, so we think this registry could really be helpful in figuring out how Nebraska can do a better job of dealing with this disease.”
The registry is just getting started, Dr. Cowan said, but he hopes to eventually make it available online to allow easy access. He plans to work with hospitals around the state to identify breast cancer patients. These patients would be asked a series of questions, looking at what kind of treatment they received and what factors might have influenced their getting breast cancer, such as diet and exercise.
“We would have a biospecimen bank that would allow us to develop a database of breast cancer tissue samples and look for possible trends,” he said. “Our overall goal is to just make sure that all women in the state are receiving state-of-the-art treatment.”
Honorary chairpersons for the event are Mike and Gail Yanney and Bill and Lisa Roskens. Lisa Runco, administrator for the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine, is event chairperson.
Tickets for this year’s Ambassador of Hope Gala cost $150 per person. Table sponsorships range from $1,500 to $10,000. For more information, call 559-4179 or go to www.nebraskahope.org.