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03.10.08 |
Ann's Hope Foundation Selected as the Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association (WPPA) Charity Beneficiary |
07.11.07 |
Ann's Hope Foundation, Inc, Awards University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center for Melanoma Research |
03.19.07 |
Early Sunbed Use Boosts Melanoma Risk |
03.02.07 |
Ann's Hope Foundation, Inc. Awards Medical College $65,000 for Melanoma Research |
01.01.07 |
Dr. Vinod Shidham Refining Melanoma Test |
12.01.05 |
Ann's Hope Foundation gives the American Cancer Society $35,000 |
03.18.05 |
1st Annual Rays Awareness– Block Melanoma Walk/Run will be May 1, 2005 |
Ann's Hope Foundation Selected as the Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association (WPPA) Charity Beneficiary
Madison, WI – March 10, 2008 - Ann's Hope Foundation has been selected as the 2007-2008 beneficiary of the Wisconsin Professional Photographers charity efforts. The 112th WPPA convention was held March 7-11, at the Marriott Inn in Madison, WI. At the WPPA gala - An Evening of Celebration, Ann's Hope Foundation was presented with a check for $21,148. This donation was raised during the past year by the members of the WPPA.
"We are so very touched to be the recipient of this generous gift to add to our funds for melanoma research and awareness", said Kathleen Rawlsky of Ann's Hope Foundation. Currently, Ann's Hope foundation is supporting the groundbreaking melanoma research of Dr. Mark Albertini at the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center in Madison, WI.
The WPPA President, Donna Swiecichowski, selected Ann's Hope Foundation as the beneficiary of the 2007-2008 WPPA's charity effort in memory of her niece and goddaughter, Bobbi Jean Kimball. When Bobbi was just fourteen years old, she noticed a mole on her left arm was beginning to change and grow. Several months later, Bobbi bumped the mole and it began to bleed. The mole was removed and tests were done. The tests came back and Bobbi was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. Bobbi did treatment for one year and then was cancer free for almost 2 years. In October of 2000, a normal chest x-ray showed the cancer had returned and Bobbi Jean lost her fight with melanoma just 2-1/2 months after graduating from high school.
The American Cancer Society estimates that by the year 2010, one in fifty people will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma is the fastest growing cancer in the United States. One person dies every hour from melanoma. It is the leading cancer cause in women ages 20-25, and the second leading in women ages 30-35.
Ann's Hope Foundation, Inc, Awards University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center for Melanoma Research
Ann's Hope Foundation, Inc, has pledged a three-year commitment of $75,000 totaling $225,000 to the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The UW Carbone Cancer Center is the only comprehensive cancer center in Wisconsin, as designated by the National Cancer Institute, the lead federal agency for cancer research.
This $225,000 gift will support the groundbreaking work of Mark Albertini, MD, who specializes in melanoma research and treatment. His work is centered on the importance of T-cells in the immune response against melanoma. The overall goal of Dr. Albertini's research program is to provide an understanding of the immunobiology of human malignant melanoma as a means to develop effective treatment and monitoring strategies for patients with this disease. This goal is pursued with clinical and laboratory studies involving melanoma patients and with preclinical model systems to direct subsequent clinical studies. Research by physicians at the UW Carbone Cancer Center has already shown promising information on DNA vaccines as targeted immunotherapy for melanoma.
Dr. Albertini is an associate professor (with tenure) of medicine at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Albertini is a nationally-known melanoma researcher who has led treatment efforts for patients with metastatic melanoma at the UW Carbone Cancer Center since he joined the faculty in 1993. Dr. Albertini established the UW Carbone Cancer Center Comprehensive Melanoma Clinic in September of 1994 and is the leader of the UW Carbone Cancer Center Melanoma Disease-Oriented working group. He has been awarded the Professionalism Award by the UW Department of Medicine House staff and has been selected for listing by the Best Doctors in America organization. Dr. Albertini has also served as Chief of Oncology at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital since January 2003.
Ann's Hope Foundation, Inc is a charitable not-for-profit organization founded by two women, Ann Harrington and Anne Fretzel, each of whom lost a loved one to melanoma. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the dangers of melanoma as well as to promote research, early detection and prevention efforts in the community.
Early Sunbed Use Boosts Melanoma Risk
Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:55PM GMT Email This Article NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
People who use tanning beds do not protect themselves from skin damage from subsequent sun exposure, an international research group has concluded. In fact, use of sunbeds before age 35 substantially increases the risk of developing melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer, the investigators found. "Young adults should be discouraged from using indoor tanning equipment and restricted access to sunbeds by minors should be strongly considered," the Working Group on artificial UV light and skin cancer of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concludes in the March 1 issue of the International Journal of Cancer. The group reviewed all studies done up until March 2006 to investigate the relationship between sunbed use and skin cancer. Men and women who ever used sunbeds were 15 percent more likely to develop melanoma, the researchers found, based on 19 studies they reviewed. A review of seven studies found that exposure to tanning beds before age 35 boosted melanoma risk by 75 percent. While three studies of a less-deadly type of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, also found increased risk with sunbed exposure, research did not support a link with basal cell carcinoma, another common type of skin cancer. Given that sunbed use has become widespread only relatively recently, and that both melanoma and basal cell carcinoma have a long latency period, the current study may not have been able to detect all potential risk, the researchers note. Nevertheless, they say, current evidence is strong enough to suggest that tanning bed use causes skin cancer, especially if exposure to sunbeds occurs before the age of 35. "The strength of the existing evidence suggests that policy makers should strongly consider enacting measures such as restricting minors and discouraging young adults from using indoor tanning equipment, in order to protect the general population from additional risk for melanoma and squamous cell skin cancer," the IARC group concludes.
SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, March 1, 2007.
Hartland’s Ann’s Hope Foundation, Inc. Awards Medical College $65,000 for Melanoma Research
Ann's Hope Foundation, Inc. has pledged a $65,000 two-year grant to the Medical College of Wisconsin for research to fight melanoma. The grant will help fund Dr. Vinod Shidham's research to further develop the Melanoma Cocktail, a rapid test conducted during initial melanoma surgery that has shown promising results in detecting early spread of the tumor.
Ann's Hope Foundation, Inc, is a charitable/not-for-profit organization founded by two Waukesha County women, Ann Harrington and Anne Frentzel, each of whom lost a relative to melanoma. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the dangers of melanoma as well as research, early detection and prevention efforts in the community.
The grant will be distributed over a two-year period, with $50,000 in proceeds from the Foundation's annual Rays Awareness, Block Melanoma Run/Walk and related events already awarded, and a pledge of $15,000 to come from the Foundation's upcoming events. It will help Dr. Shidham refine the testing technique to a single step that can eliminate the need for a second surgery, and reduce the testing time by two/thirds.
Dr. Vinod Shidham Refining Melanoma Test - January 2007 Cancer Center News
A melanoma cancer test developed at the Medical College of Wisconsin recently received a boost to further enhance its usefulness in shortening the wait for results when a patient is in surgery.
Research on enhancement of the Melanoma Cocktail, which was developed by Vinod Shidham, MD, Professor of Pathology, is being supported by Ann's Hope Foundation. The "MCW melanoma cocktail" (BMC Cancer 2003; 3(1):15) is a test that detects whether or not melanoma cancer cells have spread into the lymph nodes.
Dr. Shidham is striving to reduce the amount of time between the patient's initial operation for removal of the skin cancer cells and determination of whether or not a second operation is needed to stop the cancer from further spreading through the patient's lymph nodes.
Currently, test results can be obtained in 30 minutes. That's down from the 24 hours to 48 hours needed with previous, less accurate tests. The new research aims to lower that time even more by reducing the number of steps in the test from two to one.
"Our goal is to knock the wait time for results down to less than 10 minutes and reduce the amount of time patients must wait on the operating table," said Dr. Shidham.
Ann's Hope Foundation was established by two friends from Hartland, Wis., Ann Harrington and Anne Frentzel, who both lost family members to melanoma cancer. Their mission is to raise awareness of the dangers of melanoma cancer and to raise the level of research, early detection and prevention efforts in the community. To help accomplish its mission, the organization raises money through the annual Rays Awareness–Block Melanoma Run/Walk held in the spring.
Ann's Hope Foundation presented a check to the American Cancer Society
for $35,000 in December of 2005.
The money donated from the Ann's Hope Foundation will be used to supplement a postdoctoral study of melanoma. The Board of Directors selected Dr. Stephen Murray based at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. Dr. Murray's research focuses on the metastatic spread of tumor cells to other 
organs of the body, specifically related to melanoma. He proposes that his research will provide insight into preventing advanced disease. We will receive updates on Dr. Murray's findings and will share his information as we receive it.
Ann Harrington, Sarah Bartosz from the American Cancer Society and Ann Frentzel (from left to right).
1st ANNUAL RAYS AWARENESS – BLOCK MELANOMA RUN WALK WILL BE MAY 1, 2005
MILWAUKEE, (March 17, 2005) – The first annual Rays Awareness – Block Melanoma 5K run and 3K walk will be taking place May 1, 2005 at the Country Springs Hotel & Convention Center in Waukesha. Ann’s Hope Foundation hosts the event. All proceeds will be going to the American Cancer Society, with the funds being designated to melanoma research.
Rays Awareness-Block Melanoma 5K run will begin at the Country Springs and head east on the Lake Country recreational trail and loop back. The 3K walk will also begin at the Country Springs and head west, looping at Hwy G then heading back. Awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers in each age group. Participants will receive a T-shirt, gift bag, food and drinks, and live entertainment by Big Fat Denial.
Registration fees, until April 23, are $15 per individual; $60 for a team of five; $110 for a team of 10, plus $10 for each additional team member. Participants who fundraise more than $40 will be given free registration, and be entered into a drawing to win items such as spa manicure/pedicures, haircut packages, restaurant certificates, oil change/ car service certificates and more. Online registration and more information on the event are available at www.annshope.org. Brochures are available by calling 262-305-1370. Rays Awareness-Block Melanoma was organized to honor melanoma patients Craig Harasha and Richard Cibula. Craig's sister, Ann Harrington, and Richard's daughter, Anne Frentzel, are the co-founders of Ann's Hope. Richard died of the disease in 2002. Craig was diagnosed in September 2004 with stage IV malignant melanoma. He underwent months of chemotherapy, biotherapy, and radiation in an attempt to slow the progression of the rapid spreading cancer. As the designated honorary chairperson of the Rays Awareness event, he looked forward to helping raise awareness of melanoma. He died on March 6 at the age of 43.
"Anne Frentzel and I founded Ann's Hope Foundation because both of our families have been devastated by malignant melanoma. We felt we needed to do our part to increase awareness of melanoma and educate the public of the importance of early detection, and wanted to raise money for melanoma cancer research. Since May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, we thought it was the perfect time to host the Rays Awareness – Block Melanoma event. We are passionate about this cause and know that by raising awareness we can raise funds and that with funds comes more research, and with research comes hope for a cure", said Ann Harrington, co-founder of Ann's Hope Foundation.
While melanoma is largely perceived as "just skin cancer", the facts are that it has reached epidemic proportions, with one person dying every hour (according to the American Academy of Dermatology). It is the fastest growing cancer in the United States. At this time there is no cure for melanoma in its later stages, but it is highly curable if detected early.