Four University of Arizona researchers have been awarded $25,000 grants by the Better Than Ever training program, which helps people make fitness part of their lives while raising money for women's cancers research.
Participants in the program get training in walking, running or biking and participate in marathons, runs/walks and bicycle races. The money they raise – via pledges from friends, family, colleagues and others – supports pilot projects and junior faculty development at the Arizona Cancer Center. Led by Dr. Setsuko K. Chambers, the Women's Cancers group at the center brings together clinical and research faculty from many departments who focus on breast and gynecological cancers under one umbrella.
Below is a list of the 2008-2009 recipients, which were selected by the BTE Scientific Review Committee, and the titles of their projects.
Jennifer Wright Bea, PhD
Research Associate
Cancer Prevention and Control
Arizona Cancer Center
Prevention of Frailty in Breast Cancer Survivors
Janet L. Funk, MD
Research Associate Professor of Medicine
Arizona Health Sciences Center
Turmeric Treatment of the Skeletal Complications of Breast Cancer: Efficacy and Mechanism of Action
Julie E. Lang, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Division of Surgical Oncology
Effect of Pregnancy History on the Presence of Breast Tumor Initiating Cells
Baldassarre “Dino” Stea, MD, PhD
Professor and Chairman
Department of Radiation Oncology
Amifostine Radioprotection Without Tumor Protection: In Vivo and In Vitro Studies with MCF7 Human Breast Cancer Cell Line
Better Than Ever began in 2000 when Heather Alberts, wife of Arizona Cancer Center Director Dave Alberts, decided to share her love of exercise and to get her husband’s colleagues at the Arizona Cancer Center walking the talk of cancer prevention.
Heather Alberts proposed a half marathon training program that would also raise funds for research. The first year included 45 team members, most of whom considered themselves nonathletes. Three months later, these women and men crossed the finish line of the Tucson Half Marathon, having gained better health and greater self confidence along the way.
Better Than Ever experienced extraordinary growth in 2001 when it grew to 500 members, many of whom walked or ran in memory of Bobbi Olson, the late wife of UA basketball coach Lute Olson. Just months earlier, Bobbi had lost her battle with ovarian cancer. Participating in Better Than Ever was a way for Tucsonans to pay tribute to this beloved member of the community.
Since it began, more than 2,600 people have taken part in the Better Than Ever program, which now includes training for the half marathon, a 10K run or walk, and a bicycle race.
All of the funds raised by participants go directly to research at the Arizona Cancer Center. Since 2000, the program has distributed more than $1.3 million.
Better Than Ever's fall season begins Aug. 20. For more information, contact Marisa Allen at mallen@azcc.arizona.edu or 520-626-7177 or visit www.arizonabte.org.