About Us

The 15th Annual “Hoops for a Cure” will take place at the Chartiers Valley High School on Friday, April 23, 2010 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Nathan S. Arenson Fund for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Dr. Olivera Finn, Professor and Chair at the University of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine, oversees the Nathan S. Arenson Fund.

We are planning another exciting event this year. The event will start with the Section 4 All-Stars vs. the WPIAL All-Stars. This game will showcase top All-Star talent from all over the WPIAL. The final game begins at 8:00 p.m. when the Chartiers Valley Faculty take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Admission is $7.00; children under three will be admitted free of charge.

This game and fund holds a special place in our lives since it’s named after our father, who passed away from Pancreatic Cancer in 1995. He fought and lived longer than anyone expected and it is my desire to see that this fund helps find the cure to this devastating disease. We are making progress. The following is an excerpt on the progress provided by Dr. Finn:

““This being the 15th anniversary of The Nathan S. Arenson Fund, it is important to reflect on the progress we have made locally and the progress that we have stimulated around the world in our field of research and translation to the clinic. Locally we have conducted seven clinical trials with over 200 cancer patients, testing various formulations of our vaccine to find the one that is most safe and effective. This has resulted in a vaccine that we are now using in individuals with premalignant disease (large polyps that give rise to colon cancer and pancreatic cysts that give rise to pancreatic cancer, intraductal breast lesions that progress to invasive breast cancer). In the last two years we have vaccinated 40 individuals and seen impressive immune responses and no toxicity whatsoever. In another two years, we will be able to measure if the vaccine has also stopped progression to cancer or eliminated premalignant lesions altogether. Other than the HPV vaccine that prevents viral infection and thus a possibility of cervical cancer in the future, nobody else in the world is testing vaccines for cancer prevention. However, encouraged by our example and our findings of no toxicity, several clinical trials are opening around the world with our vaccine, as well as others, in patients with very early cancers, such as early stage melanomas in Germany, breast cancer in Australia, stage I lung cancer in the US and Germany, and early prostate cancer in the US. Pancreatic cancer vaccines continue to be tested primarily by us at the University of Pittsburgh and at Johns Hopkins. Patients around the world contact us for advice and treatment options.

Fifteen years ago there were respected scientific leaders who did not believe in the role of the immune system in cancer prevention and discouraged government funding for research in that area. Private donors, such as you who contribute to The Nathan S. Arenson Fund kept the field alive. Cancer immunotherapy and cancer vaccines are now the most promising solution to the cancer problem worldwide. With your help we were able to establish world leadership in this effort and hope to change the face of cancer forever.

One small but important fact about current cancer therapy: in the last 10 years the cost of treating a patient with colon cancer has gone from $500 per person per year to $250,000 per person per year. In that same time, survival from colon cancer has increased 4 months. The quality of life in those four months has decreased due to extreme toxicity of the drugs. The picture is the same for most of the important human cancers. Early diagnosis followed by a vaccine to prevent progression of cancer is the future we used to dream about and are now beginning to realize.”

I am once again asking for your assistance to further support Dr. Olivera J. Finn and her team at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, who administer the funds from The Nathan S. Arenson Fund, in their quest to find a cure for Pancreatic Cancer.

Raffle tickets are now being sold for $10.00 each. The Grand Prize of (2) tickets to Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, along with tickets to several other major sporting events, not to mention several pieces of authentic autographed sports memorabilia are included in this exciting raffle. Door prizes will be given away during the evening to several lucky patrons who have a winning admission ticket.

The Nathan S. Arenson Fund depends on all of us in order to survive. I hope you will support this worthy cause because in the end, it is your generosity that will truly help in our fight to combat this deadly disease that affects us all. It is my continued hope that this fund and this event become renowned for medical research and treatment in the fight against Pancreatic Cancer. To date, the Nathan S. Arenson Fund has raised in excess of $1,000,000. Our goal this year in our fundraising efforts is to raise $100,000. Please feel free to check our website to learn more at www.hoopsforacure.com.

I have enclosed a self-addressed envelope for your use. All donations should be made to The Nathan S. Arenson Fund/UPCI, c/o FMI, 5959 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Suite 125, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. All contributions are tax deductible.

I wish to thank you in advance for your support and generosity.

Sincerely,

The Arenson Family