Chiron Foundation Awards Grants to National Organizations Promoting Improved Quality of Life for Cancer and Lung Transplant Pati
February 02 2006 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
The Chiron Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization
funded by Chiron Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIR), announced today that it
has awarded a total of $140,000 to seven organizations for programs
assisting people living with cancer, lung transplants and pulmonary
related illnesses. The recipients are the Okizu Foundation, Healing
Journeys, National Children's Cancer Society, Friends of Cancer
Research, Allergy and Asthma Network, American Lung Association of
Washington and Second Wind. These grants will assist each
organization in its efforts to improve the quality of life for
patients through the development of support and education programs
and to raise awareness of cancer and pulmonary illnesses through
outreach and advocacy. "We are extremely pleased to support these
outstanding organizations' efforts to raise awareness, provide
public education and expand their programs," said Jay Grover,
president of the Chiron Foundation. "The work of these
organizations has a direct impact on patients and their families,
which parallels our commitment to improving the lives of those
suffering from cancer and lung and respiratory illnesses. As Chiron
works to provide treatments for these diseases, we are gratified to
know that these organizations are helping those who are currently
suffering, especially children." The Chiron Foundation's grant to
the Okizu Foundation, headquartered in Novato, Calif., will support
the organization's Oncology Camp, a free summer camping program
offered each year at Camp Okizu to 300 children in treatment for or
in remission from cancer. Oncology Camp allows these children to
experience being part of a close-knit group of friends and enjoy
the challenges and excitement of activities that are not typically
part of their life during these stages of treatment and recovery.
The Okizu Foundation is dedicated to providing recreational
therapy, respite and peer-support programs to meet the needs of all
members of families affected by childhood cancer. The Chiron
Foundation's grant to Healing Journeys, headquartered in
Sacramento, Calif., will support Cancer as a Turning Point, From
Surviving to Thriving -- a free two-day program designed to
educate, inspire, celebrate and network anyone touched by cancer or
other life-altering illness. The implementation of this program
furthers Healing Journeys' mission to promote and support healing
by exposing patients, family members, friends, support people and
health professionals to the integrative approach and practices of
healing and accessing their ability to thrive. Healing Journeys was
founded in 1994 as a result of a personal cancer experience and has
been conducting Turning Point seminars for ten years. The Chiron
Foundation's grant to National Children's Cancer Society (NCCS),
headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., will support the expansion of
NCCS's Pediatric Oncology Program, which provides financial
assistance, emotional support, advocacy and educational programs
for families with children suffering from cancer. The financial
support provided by the program enables parents to stay with their
hospitalized child, and assists with out-of-pocket supplementary
expenses. The program also provides professional case managers to
work with individual families to handle the emotional upheaval
cancer causes in their lives. The NCCS is a nonprofit organization
founded in 1987 to improve the quality of life for children with
cancer and to reduce the risk of cancer. Since its inception the
NCCS has helped over 17,000 families in financial need. The Chiron
Foundation's grant to Friends of Cancer Research (FOCR),
headquartered in Washington, D.C., will support an ongoing
educational and awareness project focused on opportunities to
streamline and accelerate the process whereby potential new cancer
treatments are evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). The program objective is to make promising treatments
available more quickly by working with top cancer research
scientists, advocacy leaders and health care professionals to
promote more efficient and consistent processes at the FDA for the
handling of oncology products. Recently, FOCR's collaborative
efforts played a key role in supporting the creation of a new
Office of Oncology Products at FDA. FOCR is a nonprofit
organization that raises awareness and provides public education on
cancer research in order to accelerate the nation's progress toward
prevention and treatment of all cancers. The Chiron Foundation's
grant to the Allergy and Asthma Network -- Mothers of Asthmatics
(AANMA), headquartered in Fairfax, Va., will support the
organization's Consumer Health Alliance for Safe Medication (CHASM)
public education campaign. The goal of the campaign will be to
alert vulnerable patients to the actions they can take to ensure
the nebulized medications they take for respiratory conditions such
as asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia and Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are FDA-approved. Patients are
increasingly, without their knowledge, being exposed to health
risks associated with unapproved nebulized medications. The
campaign underscores the organization's mission to eliminate death
and suffering for those living with allergies and asthma, many of
whom are children, and to prevent deaths for persons living with
chronic respiratory conditions through education, advocacy and
community outreach. The Chiron Foundation's grant to the American
Lung Association of Washington (ALAW), headquartered in Seattle,
Wash., will assist in the development and mobilization of a King
County Lung Cancer Prevention Network to support and encourage
informed public health policy development relating to lung cancer
and its prevention. Lung cancer is the leading cause of deaths by
cancer in both men and women; it kills more women than breast
cancer and more men than prostate cancer every year. The ALAW is a
state affiliate of the American Lung Association and is dedicated
to assuring lung health for Washington state residents through
disease prevention and research, patient education and health
policy dialogue. The Chiron Foundation's grant to Second Wind Lung
Transplant Association, headquartered in Largo, Fla., will support
the development of a direct mail newsletter for the organization
aimed at educating lung transplant recipients and persons on the
transplant waiting list on such matters as critical patient
education and medical advancements, among others. This project will
help patients become better educated on the lung transplant
experience, with the hopes of assisting these same patients to
obtain a better quality of life. Second Wind is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for lung
transplant recipients, lung surgery candidates, people with related
pulmonary concerns and their families by providing an array of
support services. Second Wind's current member base reaches roughly
800 people and is the primary organization that operates solely for
the benefit of the lung transplant community. About the Chiron
Foundation Established in 2004, the Chiron Foundation is an
independent, nonprofit organization committed to improving lives
through better healthcare, empowering lives through better
education and enriching lives through better communities. The
Foundation awards grants in three major focus areas: health and
medicine, education, and community. For further information about
the Chiron Foundation, please visit www.chiron.com/foundation.
About Chiron Chiron delivers innovative and valuable products to
protect human health by advancing pioneering science across the
landscape of biotechnology. The company works to deliver on the
limitless promise of science and make a positive difference in
people's lives. For more information about Chiron, please visit
www.chiron.com.
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