TGen receives donation from Seena Magowitz Foundation for pancreatic cancer research

Major charity golf tournaments in Phoenix and Atlanta help fund successful clinical trials of drug that helps extend patients' lives

The Seena Magowitz Foundation has donated $500,000 from two charity golf tournaments dedicated to supporting pancreatic cancer research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

Past donations from the Seena Magowitz Foundation have helped fund significant scientific research that is making a difference in the lives of pancreatic cancer patients and their families.

In January, TGen Physician-In-Chief Dr. Daniel Von Hoff presented study results at a San Francisco cancer symposium, showing that the drug Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) when combined with gemcitabine, significantly extended the survival of pancreatic cancer patients. The Seena Magowitz Foundation helped fund the clinical trials that led to this advance.

"A decade of advocacy and fundraising is really paying off with concrete results that are actually helping pancreatic patients survive longer," said Roger Magowitz, President and Co-Founder of the Seena Magowitz Foundation. "Our supporters deserve to take a bow, because the research behind these advances might not be possible without their help."

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and annually takes the lives of more than 38,000 Americans. A staggering 75 percent of those diagnosed die within the first year, and only 6 percent survive more than five years.

The most recent $500,000 donation to TGen from the Seena Magowitz Foundation represented funds raised during the 10th annual Seena Magowitz Golf Classic on Dec. 8 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, and also from the 3rd annual Atlanta Golf Classic, organized Oct. 1 by pancreatic cancer survivor Howard Young, President of General Wholesale Beer Company. Young is a TGen Foundation Board Member and Chairman of TGen's National Advisory Council for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

"TGen could not have made the progress we have against this disease without the unflagging dedication of special people like Roger Magowitz and Howard Young, and the hundreds of supporters they have inspired over the past decade," said TGen Foundation President Michael Bassoff.

Magowitz informed the TGen Foundation of the $500,000 donation during the March 28 Evening on the Diamond, an annual fundraising event hosted by the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

"We are experiencing a remarkable confluence of forces between the Seena Magowitz Foundation, Major League Baseball and TGen in the fight against this most aggressive and deadly of cancers," Magowitz said. "It is this kind of concerted effort, backed by prominent individuals and organizations, that eventually will lead to a cure for pancreatic cancer."

Evening on the Diamond included the presentation of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation Community Leadership Award, now named in memory of Lee Hanley, the late TGen Foundation Board Member who passed away in 2012 from pancreatic cancer. The newly named Lee T. Hanley Community Leadership Award was presented to former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl for his 26 years of service in the U.S. Congress. Past winners include TGen Board Chairman Bill Post, TGen Foundation Board Member Karl Eller, and TGen President and Research Director Dr. Jeffrey Trent.

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alyssa Bonagura, who performed Dec. 8 during the 10th annual Seena Magowitz Golf Classic, also performed during Evening on the Diamond.