Second Annual Strike Out Fore Sarcoma Golf Tournament

The Duke Sarcoma Center will host its second annual Strike Out Fore Sarcoma Golf Tournament on Monday, May 6, at the Club at 12 Oaks in Holly Springs, NC. The event aims to raise awareness and funds for sarcoma research at Duke Cancer Institute.

Each year nearly 10,000 patients are diagnosed with sarcoma, said Colleen Forbes, RN, a DCI nurse who hosts the tournament at her own golf club. 

"Sarcomas demand specialized expertise in diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation to maximize patients' quality of life after therapy," said Olivia Franek, RN, a nurse who volunteers her time to help organize the event. Franek said that research funding is limited, and that funds raised by the tournament support the Sarcoma Center's efforts to find new and innovative ways to move closer to a cure for sarcoma. 

Learn more and register for the tournament here.

More than 700,000 people in the United States are living with the diagnosis of a primary brain tumor, and 69,000 more will be diagnosed this year. Approximately 4,300 children younger than age 20 will be diagnosed each year. On Saturday, April 27, thousands of people from across the country will gather on Duke's Medical Center Campus at the corner of Erwin Road and Flowers Drive to raise money for brain tumor research. The 31st annual Angels Among Us 5K and Walk of HOPE will begin with a 5K run followed by entertainment, children's activities, food, and fun for the entire family. A ceremony will begin the walk of hope through the Duke University Medical Campus and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. 

Proceeds from the event support the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. Visit www.angelsamongus.org to learn more. 

The Hilliard Seigler Duke Melanoma Consortium was originally formed by a group of community members, physicians, and researchers with a common interest in melanoma research. The annual event provides updates on innovative basic and clinical melanoma research both nationally and internationally, as well as detailed information about basic and clinical melanoma programs at Duke. 

The event will take place on May 17 in the Great Hall of the Semans Center. There will also be a virtual option for those unable to attend in person. Registration for Zoom will be available soon. 

Agenda

2:00 PM to 2:10 PM: Introduction 
Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MHSc. 
Duke Health

2:10 PM to 2:30 PM: "Current Treatment Options and New Therapies on The Way"
Matthew Powell, MD, Washington University School of Medicine 

2:30 PM to 2:50 PM: "Immunotherapy Side Effects: What Patient’s Need to Know"
Stephanie Shuey, PharmD, BCOP 
Clinical Pharmacist, Duke Oncology Clinic and Patient Care Pharmacy 

2:50 PM to 3:15 PM: Break 

3:15 PM to 3:35 PM: "Nerve Injury From Chemotherapy; The Whys and Options for Prevention"
Mary Katherine Anastasio, MD 
Duke Health  

3:35 PM to 3:55 PM: "Now What? Stress & Anxiety Management After Cancer"
Ginger J. Gardner, MD, FACOG 
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 
Ellie Bautista, MT-BC, LMFTA 
Duke Cancer Patient Support Program 

3:55 PM to 4:15 PM: "New Surgical Techniques: Ways to Make Surgery Easier for Our Patients"
Emma Rossi, MD
Duke Health
Sabino Zani, MD
Duke Health 

4:15 PM to 4:30 PM: Da Vinci Xi System Demonstration 

4:30 PM to 5:30 PM: Dinner

5:30 PM: Duke Women’s Basketball Game vs. NC State 

Background on the Consortium

Endometrial cancer, a cancer involving the inside lining of the uterus, is the leading gynecological cancer affecting women in the United States. Approximately 66,000 patients were diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2023. While many patients are living vibrant lives outside of their endometrial cancer diagnosis, an estimated 13,030 were predicted to have died from the disease in 2023. That number is not expected to decrease in 2024. This cancer is more common in Black patients than white patients, and Black women are more likely to die from it.

The Consortium seeks to decrease the burden of living with endometrial cancer by discovering new ways to prevent and treat endometrial cancer and improve survival through continued education and research.

Associate Director of Clinical Research in DCI's Gynecologic Cancer Disease Group Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MHSc, led the creation of a multi-institutional Endometrial Cancer Consortium in 2019 with the initial support of a Kay Yow "Cancers that Affect Women" grant. The original nine-member consortium continues to grow and now includes 20 sites across the U.S. The consortium is investigating tumor makeup at the molecular level, probing endometrial cancer growth factors, and analyzing treatment outcomes. With this information, the consortium hopes to identify the safest most effective molecularly-targeted therapies for each patient.

Learn more about a recent research project funded by the consortium, the findings of which were recently presented by Dr. Secord at the 2023 Global Gynecologic Cancer Society Annual Meeting in Seoul, South Korea, held Nov. 5 to 7, 2023.

Dr. Secord is the current President of the (U.S.) Society of Gynecologic Oncology. She joined the faculty in 2001 after serving as a fellow and a resident at Duke, and attained the rank of full professor in 2013. A national leader in the field, her research is centered on novel therapeutics, biomarkers, and clinical trial development for ovarian and endometrial cancer. 

by D'Ann George, program development coordinator, Duke Cancer Institute Development (Dec. 8, 2023)

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