Her mother’s battle with breast cancer played a key role in her life
Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State (2005-2009), will be honored tonight at the Ambassador of Hope Gala at Qwest Center Omaha. Nearly 800 people are expected to attend.
Hosted by the Friends of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, the gala is held every two years and is one of the top fundraising events in the city. In 2008, the event raised more than $1.1 million to support cancer research at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
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. Only five others have received the award: Robin Roberts, Tom Brokaw, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Sam Donaldson and Chuck Durham.
“Condoleezza has been a strong advocate for breast cancer research and screenings and has done much to raise the public’s awareness of cancer,” said Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. “She is an excellent addition to our select group of Ambassador of Hope honorees.”
While in Omaha, Dr. Rice will continue the national tour of her family memoir, "Extraordinary, Ordinary People," which was released earlier this month. Prior to tonight’s gala, she will do a book signing between 2 and 3 p.m. at The Bookworm in Countryside Village.
Dr. Rice was 15 when her mother, Angelena, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970. She died in 1985 at the age of 61.
In an excerpt from her book, Dr. Rice wrote: “Once cancer enters your family’s life it is a constant and unwelcome presence. As the daughter of a mother who had breast cancer I can confirm that the perpetual anxiety caused by a parent’s disease is passed on to the child very directly. Over my lifetime the fact that my mother had breast cancer has persisted as a dominant factor in my own health prognosis.”
She described some of the obstacles cancer posed for her mother: “In 1970, cancer surgery was pretty blunt. The operation left a concave indentation where mother’s breast had been. It was not standard practice then to do immediate reconstructive surgery. Mother lived the rest of her life with a prosthetic bra. Moreover, the removal of several of her lymph nodes caused her left arm to swell to almost twice the size of her right. She covered the swelling by always wearing long-sleeved dresses.”
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Dr. Rice is Professor of Political Economy in the Graduate School of Business, Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution and Professor of Political Science, Stanford University.
As the 66th Secretary of State, she focused on engaging America’s many partners around the world to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that would respond to the needs of their people. She worked with the Department of State to advance transformational diplomacy, an effort to implement new diplomatic foundations aimed at securing a future of freedom for all people.
She also has been involved in a number of humanitarian pursuits, most notably with PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and in creating and serving on the board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Both endeavors increased aid to developing countries and the world’s poorest, most disadvantaged populations. PEPFAR was the largest commitment of funds from any single nation to combat a single disease at any time in history, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation promotes sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.
Prior to serving as America’s chief diplomat, she served four years as President George W. Bush’s assistant to the president for National Security Affairs (national security advisor) from 2001 to 2005.
Howard and Rhonda Hawks are honorary chairs of this year’s Ambassador of Hope Gala. Event co-chairs are Lisa Mellen and Angie Miller.
Mike and Lin Simmonds of Omaha will receive the Margre and Chuck Durham Spirit of Nebraska Award at the gala. The Simmonds are being recognized for launching a program in 2004 through their Simmonds Restaurant Management firm and its affiliated Burger King restaurants. The program – called Help Beat Cancer for Kids – has raised more than $1 million for cancer research at UNMC.
For more information on the gala, go to www.nebraskahope.org.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center — a distinction held by only 66 centers in the country. The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated center in the state of Nebraska. The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center is also one of the 13 founding members of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of the world’s leading cancer centers. This recognition means the most current and innovative treatment options are available to Cancer Center patients through the integration of cutting-edge research into state-of-the-art care. Cancer Center physicians and scientists work together to quickly translate discoveries made in the laboratory into innovative treatments for the patient.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.