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Raising Funds for Cancer Early Detection: Canary Foundation Luncheon 2013

February 13, 2013

Last Friday, 200 supporters of the Canary Foundation joined at the Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club for the Annual Canary Luncheon. Together, we celebrated Canary’s successes in cancer early detection, discussed the latest technology in ovarian and breast cancer early detection research, and reviewed advances in microbubble technology.

All in all, we raised more than $187,000 to support early detection research and funds are still coming in! Special appreciation goes to an anonymous family foundation and Judy and Alan Zafran who provided lead gifts that inspired this giving. We thank them for their belief in our mission.

One of the highlights of the luncheon was watching Jesse Draper of The Valley Girl Show interview our Founder, Don Listwin, and Dr. Sanjiv “Sam” Gambhir, Chair of the Radiology Department at Stanford University and Director of the Canary Center at Stanford. Jesse brought a great energy to the conversation, asking questions about Canary Foundation research and progress, and helping to explain microbubble technology and its role in imaging for cancer early detection. Click here to watch Don Listwin give a breakdown of microbubble technology and how it will change the way we detect cancer in the future.

In addition to discussing technology and research, the interview also reinforced the most basic and fundamental message of the Canary Foundation: to detect cancer at its earliest, most curable stages. One of the highlights day was from Ronica Smucker, Executive Director of Canary Foundation, who stated: “If you come away from this luncheon with any number, it should be this: nine times out of ten, if cancer is detected early, the patient survives.” When asked for the best tip for the audience, Dr. Gambhir urged the audience to make it a priority to attend routine checkups with your doctor- the primary way cancer is detected early.

Thank you once again for all those who attended and helped us make this one of the most successful Canary Luncheons to date. We’ve created a photo gallery of the event on Facebook. We welcome you to check out the photos and tag yourself.