Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

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(Baton Rouge) - Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center's first Rathbone Society Dinner took place September 16 at the Louisiana State Museum. The Rathbone Dinner is dedicated to the memory of Dr. and Mrs. M.J. Rathbone, Jr. Dr. Rathbone was one of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center's founders and was the chairman of the board from the Center's inception until his death in 1998. The dinner honors individuals, organizations, corporations and foundations that support the Center at its highest levels of giving.

Jerry Jolly, Chairman, Board of Directors, Mary Bird Perkins, delivered the welcoming remarks. During the dinner, Todd D. Stevens, president and CEO, Mary Bird Perkins, shared his thoughts about Growing the Vision, the title for the evening's program. Dr. Kenneth Hogstrom, Chief of Physics, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and Professor and Director, LSU Medical Physics Program, discussed the future of cancer care.

The guest speaker for the evening was Greg Peace, a cancer survivor treated at Mary Bird Perkins' Covington campus two years ago by Dr. Charles Wood. Peace's experience with cancer began when he broke a chewable vitamin in half and swallowed it instead. A few days later, he started spitting up blood. "I assumed a jagged edge of the pill was to blame," he said, but the problem persisted. Ultimately, this young husband and father of two, was diagnosed with stage III tonsil cancer. The inoperable tumor was the size of a golf ball. His physician recommended that Peace receive his radiation treatments at Mary Bird Perkins in Covington, with a caution that his chances for a full recovery were only fifty-fifty.

Standing before the audience Peace said, "Today I am 100% cancer-free. My salivary glands are intact, there is no scar tissue and everything went so well there is no need to even remove my tonsils!" He thanked the Rathbone Society donors for supporting Mary Bird Perkins and said, "Dr. Wood and the Mary Bird staff desired the best for me. I wasn't just a patient. I felt as though I was a part of their family. It was obvious that it wasn't just their job but their passion."

The evening was made possible through the generosity of the Southeast Louisiana Radiation Oncology Group: Robert S. Fields, MD; Gregory C. Henkelmann, MD; Sheldon A. Johnson, MD; Maurice L. King, Jr., MD; Renee A. Levine, MD; Kenneth K. Lo, Ph.D., MD; Mary Ella Sanders, MD; Charles G. Wood, MD.

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center has been fighting cancer for over 35 years with locations in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma and Gonzales. It has comprehensive cancer programs with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge and St. Tammany Parish Hospital in Covington. These programs are accredited by the American College of Surgeons -- the gold standard for community-based cancer care. For more information visit www.marybird.org.

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