monday,may10,2004
news
the university daily kansan 3
3A
Relay raises cash, helps fight cancer
By Steve Vockrodt
svorkrodt@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Unseasonable heat Friday afternoon and the prospect of staying up until dawn the next morning was hardly enough to keep nearly 700 people from participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life.
Relay For Life
Dozens of tents lined Campanile hill, and scores of KU students and faculty joined several cancer survivors to help fight cancer. The event raised more than $57,000 for cancer research.
$37 million for cancer.
"Out there, across the country, one of every three people will be affected by cancer," said U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan). "We have to do something to fight this dreaded disease."
diedreas biosciences Relay For Life started at 6 p.m. Friday with opening announcements from Moore and Sandra Quackenbush, KU associate professor of molecular biosciences and cancer researcher.
"This is probably one of the most exciting events of my life every year." Quackenbush said.
The relay started with a lap where every participant followed several dozen cancer survivors.
One of those survivors was Bob Karmelowicz, a defensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. Doctors diagnosed a rare tumor in his nasal passages four years ago. He fought it with radiation and chemotherapy. When it came back two years ago, he fought it off again. He said it was inspiring to see so many younger people involved with the fight against cancer.
"I'm very happy that people in their 20s know it isn't something that you retire and get," Karmelowicz said.
ice said.
His wife, Olga, also endured a bout with cancer. Doctors diagnosed breast cancer seven years ago and she also defeated the disease. Her toughest battle since then was her emotions at the relay.
"It's been seven years since my cancer, but as I was walking around, I was fighting back
tears." Olga said.
Both Olga and Bob said the key in their survival against cancer was taking a proactive approach.
"You have no option, you have to fight it," Bob said. "It's an absolute must that you become a proactive patient."
He researched experimental drugs and therapies, and he believed they played a role in beating his cancer.
The couple found strength in their friends' fight with the disease.
Bob's colleague with the Chiefs, Peter Giunta and his wife, Cindy, also overcame the disease.
Cindy currently is cancer-free but said there was a chance it could come back, which was a difficult reality to live with, she said.
"It's hard because I have a 6-year-old." Cindy said. "You just have to put it in the back of your head."
One of Cindy's children, Christina, is a KU student. The Overland Park junior said it was difficult to see her mother when she was sick with cancer.
Now both families are cancer free and are fortunate to be attending events like the Relay For Life.
"You're used to your mom taking care of you," Christina said, and then you're taking care of your mom."
Cancer was a reality in the other participants' lives as well. Moore asked the crowd to raise their hands if they had been affected by cancer, and nearly everyone indicated that they had.
The relay itself lasted until 6 a.m. Saturday. The rules stated that someone from each team had to be on the track at all times.
on the track at all times. The event was punctuated by several other activities, such as a whipped-cream-pie-eating contest and a field goal kicking contest hosted by Mark Mangino, Kansas football coach.
The event is one of many nationwide relays that are the American Cancer Society's main fundraising events.
Edited by Collin LaJoie
Springtime singing
Jackie Love, Othel sophomore, sang a solo as Megan McCluney, Bonner Springs sophomore, directed the Inspirational Gospel Voices choir. The chair held its end-of-the-year performance Saturday night at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Medical center assistant professor dies
By Jodie Krafft
jkrafft@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Debra Park's tenacity and enthusiasm will be missed by friends and faculty at the KU Medical Center
6
lactate at the Rensselaer Park, assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center. died Tuesday of injuries she sustained in a two-car collision last Monday near Linwood. She was 32.
Park came to the Medical Center to teach and do research after she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas in 1994.
She earned her master's and doctorate degrees from the Medical Center and began working in the department of otolaryngology, or ears, nose and throat.
earls, nose and Dianne Durham, research director of the otolaryngology department, was Park's mentor and colleague for nine years.
"When you do research, it's often two steps forward and one step back," Durham said. "Debra was
very tenacious at getting stuff done "
One of Park's most recent accomplishments was organizing
"She was enthusiastic and very good," Girod said. "She was persistent in a difficult environment."
The trial, which will begin this summer, will monitor
Durham said Park's had gone
people taking drugs and those taking placebos to study the treatment of depression during cancer treatment.
Park
This trial is one of the more difficult trials to administer, Girod said, but Park and another colleague wrote the proposal to get funding and support from the drug company.
outside of her area of specialization to explore the mechanisms of hearing and hearing repair doctorate dissertation
Durham said because the study was outside of Park's area of expertise — testing hearing in human subjects — Park had to do extra work to learn the necessary information.
"Coming in, she didn't know much about basic science, but by the end, she could do almost anything." Durham said.
Durham remembered when Park began working in the lab and had to work with many different types of lab equipment. Durham said Park worked hard to understand the simple things and the more challenging aspects of her job, such as shifting to a different area of study.
area of study. "She went the extra mile every time," Durham said.
Susan Smithkamp, graduate student from Peoria, Ill., worked in the lab with Park for about five years
"She was the best friend that I had here," Smittkamp said. "Work will be a much more lonely
place without her"
place without her. Smittkamp said Park loved to have fun and had a great sense of humor.
honor. She remembered when Park was pregnant with her son, Andrew.
pregnant with her husband. The group of Smittkamp, Park and their husbands once tried to get a very pregnant Park to the hospital because she was going into labor. Park had a car seat to take along, but no one knew how to fasten it into the car. Smittkamp's husband has a Ph.D. Park had a Ph.D and her husband is a doctor, which was made what the situation so funny. Smittkamp said.
Smittkamp said,
'I think she said something like,
'How many doctors does it take to put a car seat together?' Smittkamp said.
Smittkamp said she and Park became extremely close working in the lab and eating lunch together every day.
every day.
"She had a short life, but I think she had a good one," Smittkamp said.
Edited by Stephanie Lovett
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Fifth Biannual Honors Progam Alumni Lecture
Brenda Jackson
Health Insurance Specialist for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
will give a lecture on Medicare and Medicaid Reform
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 4 p.m. in Nunemaker.Ms.Jackson will also have a lunch with faculty and students in Nunemaker at 12 p.m.
Ms. Jackson's primary responsibilities at CMS, formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), are policy analysis and development in Medicaid
managed care at the regional and national levels.