This morning was the 2010 Cancer Survivors Celebration Breakfast and the first year I have attended. It was a fundraiser for the IPCR also known as the Institute for Prostate Cancer Research which is a collaboration of UW Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. There were around 1,000 people attending; more men than women, but a substantial number of women and a few children as well. Friend and prostate cancer survivor, John Rudolf, invited Ken and me to join him at his tables this year. Ken was already slated to sit at another table, so I invited Alex Camara, to join me at John's table. Also seated next to me was Bruce Hosford.
I, along with all the other guests in the room, was transfixed when the morning was kicked-off with musical performances by The Canadian Tenors and Kenny G along with Walter Afanasieff. What a special treat and emotionally moving; especially the song, Hallelujah, as requested by event chair and founder of the annual breakfast, Steve Fleishmann. The tenors' voices blended with the melodic riffs of Kenny G's saxophone making me want a CD that would have just that content included.
The keynote address was fascinating by Dr. Mitchell Gold, CEO and President of Dendreon Corporation. He has overseen the growth of Dendreon from a $40 million dollar market cap to over $6 billion dollars today. He talked about how the loss of his mother to breast cancer when she was only 26 years old and when he was five years old has driven his focus toward his life's work of finding a cure for cancer.
After the call to donate generously to the cause, the morning ended with another musical performance again by The Canadian Tenors and Kenny G. Though it was pouring rain by the bucket outside, it was truly a beautiful day inside the Seattle Sheraton this morning!
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