By: Judy Shields
Los Angeles, California (The Hollywood Times) 9/12/16 – “Sadly everyone has been touched by cancer. Celebrities, producers and filmmakers alike and Bradley Cooper lost his father a couple of years ago to cancer and he had participated in several telethons in the past and he was excited to take on this leadership role. He called many of his friends as well.” said Lisa Paulsen, SU2C’s president and CEO.
The Hollywood community was again united to support Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), which staged its fifth biennial televised fundraising special last Friday night. Academy Award-nominated actor and founder of the Bradley Charles Cooper Foundation, Bradley Cooper, served as executive producer along with renowned live, large-scale event producers Done + Dusted, in collaboration with Stand Up To Cancer production team.
The telecast was broadcast live from The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, along with American Forces Network, ASPiRE, AUDIENCE Network, Bloomberg TV, Bravo, Comedy Central, Discovery Life, E! Entertainment, EPIX, ESPNEWS, FM, FS2, Fusion, FXM, Great American Country, HBO, HLN, ION Television, LMN, Logo, MLB Network, National Geographic, Pivot, RLTV, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, STARZ, STARZ ENCORE, TBS, Tr3s, VH1 and WGN America all donated one hour of simultaneous commercial-free primetime for the telecast. For the first time, there was a Spanish version of the Stand Up To Cancer telecast airing nationally on Galavision, HBO Latino, STARZ ENCORE ESPANOL and Univision.com, USA Network, which aired on Friday, September 9th at 11:00 p.m. The entire telecast will also become available to stream on Hulu beginning Saturday, September 10th.
Katie Couric, co-founder of SU2C, lost her first husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998 when he was just 41. Her sister Emily was taken two years later by pancreatic cancer.
Tom Hanks introduced Céline Dion, who closed the show with an emotional performance of her new single “Recovering.” The song, written by Pink, is a tender tune about moving on from the pain of loss and grief. The 48-year-old singer dedicated her performance to her late husband René Angélil, who died in January of throat cancer at the age of 74.
It was also for her 59-year-old brother, Daniel Dion – who passed away two days later of brain, throat and tongue cancer. And for her father, Adhémar Dion, who died in 2003 at the age of 80 from cancer as well.
“I miss René every day and the loss will now be a part of my life,” Dion said before her tearful performance, explaining how she also lost her father and brother to the disease.
Celine also said: “A few months ago during my most difficult time of grieving, I received an unexpected gift from an amazing artist that I have always admired – Pink. She offered me a song that expresses power to stand up and stay strong. The most wonderful song is called ‘Recovering.'”
Musical performances during the show included Keith Urban with Little Big Town and Dierks Bentley who paid tribute to the late David Bowie – who died of cancer at the age of 69 – by singing his hit song “Heroes” from the Academy of Country Music Honors and songs performed by Alessia Cara, Charlie Puth and Gallant.
Stand Up to Cancer launched in 2008 and counts Katie Couric among its co-founders. Its mission is to enlist the entertainment industry in the fight for a cure.
Four telethons have been broadcast in the U.S. and have been made available to more than 190 countries. To date, over $370 million has been pledged to support cancer research programs, with the initial 2008 event raising more than $100 million alone.
Other celebrities who appeared on the telecast include SU2C Co-Founder Katie Couric and Alison Sweeney, Allison Williams, Anna Kendrick, Ben Affleck, Ben Feldman, Bree Turner, Brenda Song, Brittany Daniel, Charlie Wilson, Chris Evans, Clayne Crawford, Colton Dunn, Danielle Campbell, Dave Franco, Dennis Haysbert, Dulé Hill, Ed Helms, Emma Stone, Eric Stonestreet, Eva Longoria, Geneva Carr, Greg Grunberg, Jacob Soboroff, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jillian Michaels, Joel McKinnon Miller, Jon Hamm, Jordana Brewster, Josh Gad, Jussie Smollett, Karla Souza, Katherine Heigl, Kathy Bates, Keesha Sharp, Ken Jeong, Kevin Hart, Klay Thompson, Kristen Wiig, Laverne Cox, Lena Dunham, Marcia Cross, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Matt Bomer, Matthew McConaughey, Mayim Bialik, Mel B, Melanie Collins, Odette Annable, Rachel Platten, Rita Wilson, Rob Lowe, Rob Riggle, Robert Patrick, Ryan Destiny, Shannen Doherty, Sonequa Martin-Green, Tom Hanks, Tony Hale, Viola Davis, Will Arnett, William Shatner, and Zach Galifianakis.
Vice President Joe Biden made an appearance. He lost his 46-year old son Beau to brain cancer in May.
“He was full of hope up to the end,” Biden said, of Beau. “He learned what we’re learning tonight. We’re at a tipping point in the fight against cancer. We are on the cusp of ending cancer as we know it.”
Robert Patrick (CBS Scorpion) told The Hollywood Times on the red carpet that he was standing up for his old man. His father passed away December 9, 2014 from lung cancer and then it spread pretty bad. He believed his father knew he had the cancer before the family was told, which made Robert a little angry when he found out, but has of course forgiven his Dad for that. He saw him last in Thanksgiving of that year and his family was there with his 84 year old Dad because Robert was working at the time his Dad past away.
Shannen Doherty told The Hollywood Times that she was feeling great today and lucky to be here. She was glad to be on the red carpet and laughed that she made it all the way through and was breathing good.
The Hollywood Times was able to catch up with Katie Couric and was so friendly and talked with a group of us reporters and asked us all how we were and thanked us for being part of Stand Up To Cancer event. She said it was a little insane with all these great people and the women that were there and mentioned that women get things done. They have been able to fund over 2,000 scientist from 144 institutions and developed 19 dream teams. One of the reporter’s was wearing a cute pair of white and red sneakers and Katie commended on how she would love to have those shoes and the reporter told her she could in fact have them and asked her shoe size and Katie replied, “I wear and size 6-1/2 but honestly I need to wear these heels because they make my legs look great on stage.” Now that’s a confident woman indeed. So off she left to get ready for the live telethon which we all wished we could have been a part of.
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) announced today that more than $111 million has been pledged collectively so far in connection with the star-studded September 9th “roadblock” fundraising telecast in the United States and Canada. The funds pledged toward the SU2C scientific model will be directed to collaborative research utilizing SU2C’s scientific oversight in both the United States and Canada
“Having more than 60 broadcast and cable networks and streaming platforms donate the time to air the show was record-breaking for SU2C,” said Lisa Paulsen, chief executive officer of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and a member of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors. Stand Up To Cancer is a division of EIF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. “That support enables us to make the public aware that lives are being saved by Stand Up To Cancer research, and we are profoundly grateful for it.”
In the U.S., SU2C is still gratefully accepting donations at www.su2c.org and at 1-888-90-STAND (78263). The telecast is available at www.su2cshow.org
FaceBook: facebook.com/su2c
Twitter: @SU2C
Instagram: @SU2C
YouTube: youtube.com/su2c |
During the telecast, SU2C Co-Founder Katie Couric announced plans for a new SU2C Dream Team focused on colorectal cancer, adding to the 19 existing Dream Teams that cover more than 80 percent of cancer cases in the United States and Canada. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. in men and women combined. The organization is also announcing two new Interception Dream Teams focused on cancers of the lung and pancreas. In coming months, Stand Up To Cancer, with support from its scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), will issue a new “Call for Ideas” to the scientific community seeking collaborative teams offering approaches in these three areas.
The broadcast also included inspiring stories of cancer patients who have benefited from research supported by SU2C. “It’s inspiring to share the stories of people who now lead full lives after a cancer diagnosis because of treatments available through advancements made by SU2C research,” said SU2C CFA Member Katie Couric. “We’re incredibly grateful to each and every person who contributes to this effort. When we all stand together, cancer doesn’t stand a chance.”
The three patients who appeared live on the show include:
Mitch Carbon, 18, of Spokane, Washington, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia five years ago. He was treated but relapsed twice and had few treatment options. By watching the 2014 SU2C telecast, his parents learned of a new treatment pioneered at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with the support of the SU2C-St. Baldrick’s Foundation Pediatric Cancer Dream Team. They took him to Philadelphia for the new treatment, which uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer, and he is now one year cancer-free.
Woods Brown, 75, of Evart, Michigan, was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and received surgery and radiation, but the cancer continued to spread. He enrolled in a clinical trial at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center that was investigating a new treatment supported by the SU2C- Prostate Cancer Foundation Prostate Cancer Dream Team on precision medicine. Brown is now considered cancer-free.
Trina Taylor Isaac, 43, of Baltimore, was treated for colorectal cancer with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, but her cancer returned. She joined a clinical trial supported by the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) – SU2C Cancer Epigenetics Dream Team that is investigating drugs that can reverse the cancer’s resistance to chemotherapy. She has seen nearly all of her tumors disappear.
Every day, cancer kills 1,800 people in the United States and Canada—more than one person every minute. SU2C was founded on the belief that the fight against cancer is at a tipping point—a pivotal juncture where transformative progress in cancer research is finally possible because of two trends: breakthroughs made in the understanding of the basic science of cancer, and technological advances that enable these breakthroughs to be translated into new treatments. Today’s cancer researchers need additional funding to fulfill the promise of life-saving discoveries, and Stand Up To Cancer engages the public to support their work.
Sung Poblete
President & CEO – Dr. Poblete is President and CEO of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). Prior to joining SU2C in 2011, she was the Director of Clinical and Translational Programs at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the scientific partner to SU2C. Dr. Poblete has served as the chief staff liaison to the Clinical and Translational Committee, the Pediatric Cancer Working Group, the Task Force on Survivorship Research, the Oncology Nursing Society, ASCO, and has led the AACR’s growing Continuing Medical Education program. She spearheaded the SU2C scientific review, grants administration and management, and served as the primary liaison for scientific communications and general administration. In all of her professional activities, Dr. Poblete has brought cutting edge innovation and groundbreaking initiatives to new and evolving non-profit and corporate health care environments. Dr. Poblete has held senior level positions with a focus on patient outcomes and disease management. Notably, as Vice President of Clinical Operations for a subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care – North America, she developed and operationalized national chronic kidney disease management programs utilized by national health plans. As Executive Director of the Oxford Health Plans Foundation, she led strategic grant making initiatives devoted to cutting edge research and program innovation for projects that improved the health care delivery system. Dr. Poblete has received numerous grant awards from CDC, NIH, and private foundations since 2002. She served as Centers for Disease Control-UC Health Systems Public Health Scholar from 1999-2000. Dr. Poblete earned her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in nursing from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She began her teaching career 20 years ago at Rutgers and continues to serve in the role of visiting professor at its College of Nursing.
Sue Schwartz
Co-Founder & SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) A founding partner in Robertson Schwartz Agency (RSA), Schwartz was named one of the most innovative people in America by Response magazine. Prior to founding RSA, Schwartz held Sr. and Exec. VP positions at Revlon and Almay Cosmetics. As Vice President of Almay she was a force behind the meteoric growth in sales. Sue was also the Executive Vice President of the Home Shopping Network and more than quadrupled their internet sales in one year. Sue, along with her colleagues at RSA, spearheads the marketing, branding, and promotional initiatives for Stand Up To Cancer, as well as being a fundraiser and executive leader of the organization. She stands up for her mother who she lost to multiple myeloma, as well as her sister who is both a breast and ovarian cancer survivor and her other sister who is a breast cancer survivor.
Rusty Robertson
Co-Founder & SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) Named as one of the Top 100 Marketers by Advertising Age magazine, and as one of the most entrepreneurial women in the United States, Rusty Robertson is a founding partner in RSA and the founder of RPR & Associates, which was featured in Success magazine as one of America’s Super 8 companies. Rusty is also a literary agent and award winning brand marketer, branding hundreds of major corporations and generating over $500 million for her clients and their companies. Rusty, along with her colleagues at RSA, spearhead the marketing, branding, and promotional initiatives for Stand Up To Cancer, as well as being a fundraiser and executive leader of the organization. She helped create the Margaret Thatcher Foundation and was instrumental in the launch of the Susan G. Komen Foundation with Nancy Brinker. Rusty lost her mother to lung cancer.
Meet some the Scientist, better known as “The Dream Team,” that were on the red carpet:
Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, is physician-in-chief and distinguished professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, Arizona, chief scientific officer at HonorHealth and US Oncology, and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic.
Ronald M. Evans, PhD, is professor and director of the Gene Expression Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Professor Gerard Evan is one of the world’s foremost experts in oncogenes – the genes that drive the development of cancer. Over the years he has played a vital role in identifying some of these genes, and revealing how they fuel the disease.
About Rally Health
Who We Are:
We come from a variety of backgrounds, including health care, software engineering, video game design, and social media, but we share a passion for bringing real change to a very broken system.
We are folks who obsess over every pixel and every line of code. (We can also tell you where to find the best bowl of ramen in any given city, or the best hiking trail, or the best jogging path through downtown at rush hour.) This obsessive attention to quality defines our work and our lives.
We believe a healthier life is possible for everyone, while never forgetting that some people face real challenges and need more help. Our goal is to make Rally a place for everyone, wherever they are on the spectrum of health.
How we work
At Rally℠, we live our mission. We practice better health at home and at work. From healthy lunches in our cafeteria, to running 5Ks together, to riding our bikes to the office, we focus on making the same healthier choices we empower our users to make.
The people at Rally matter as much as the work. We believe in a strong work-life balance. We trust our teammates to manage themselves, because we believe that’s when dedicated people will do their best work.
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, raises money to accelerate groundbreaking cancer research and therapies that save lives. They work with oncologists and researchers from around the world to find cures, and they’re now collaborating with Rally to promote cancer screenings.
By taking the Pledge you’ll find out what screenings are right for you. The Pledge encourages everyone to get tested, learn about preventive care and treatment options, and fight the disease. Millions of Americans will take The Pledge. Stand with us.
https://www.getscreenednow.org/
Check out their website to learn more about their company and video featuring Health Ambassador Kevin Hart.
About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease.
Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, Ellen Ziffren, and Kathleen Lobb. The late co-founder Laura Ziskin executive produced both the Sept. 5, 2008, and Sept. 10, 2010, broadcasts. SU2C was formally launched on May 27, 2008. Sung Poblete, Ph.D., R.N., has served as SU2C’s president since 2011.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research, is the official Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer. AACR is responsible for administering the grants and providing scientific oversight in conjunction with the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).
For more information, visit standup2cancer.org.
About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as the collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. EIF has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues. For more information, visit www.eifoundation.org.
About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR’s membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
