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Golf Outing Date Announced to Benefit Fox Chase Cancer Center; Money to Support Mesothelioma Fund
PHILADELPHIA (January 9, 2004) -- Members and friends of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers Local 14 have announced the 2004 date for their 10th annual Mesothelioma Golf Outing to benefit Fox Chase Cancer Center. The outing will take place on Friday, September 24th at Melrose Country Club and Ashbourne Country Club, both in Cheltenham, Pa. For information call 215-289-4303.
Last year, the golf event raised more than $134,300 for Fox Chase Cancer Center. Patrick J. Eiding, president, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO and Martin P. Campbell, business manager, Local 14 presented a check to Fox Chase researcher Joseph Testa, PhD for the Mesothelioma Fund.
Asbestos workers and their families are at high risk for certain lung diseases due to their exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer, is one of the most deadly occupational diseases and is directly related to the inhalation of loose asbestos fibers.
In an effort to fight this disease, the family of longtime Local 14 member Hank Vaughan established a special fund for cancer research as a memorial to him after his death from mesothelioma in 1991. The officers and members of Local 14, along with their employers, joined in this effort and together they created the Mesothelioma Fund at Fox Chase. In addition to fundraising efforts, four cents per hour for every hour worked in the insulation industry is also donated to the Fund.
The Mesothelioma Fund supports the work of Fox Chase researchers including Testa. The goal of his research is to identify genetic changes that are characteristic of mesothelioma, which may lead to the development of new and more effective ways to diagnose and treat patients.
Fox Chase Cancer Center, part of Temple University Health System, is one of the leading cancer research and treatment centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase also was among the first institutions to receive the National Cancer Institute’s prestigious comprehensive cancer center designation in 1974. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has achieved Magnet status for excellence three consecutive times. Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research and oversees programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. For more information, call 1-888-FOX-CHASE (1-888-369-2427).
