UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2017 | Page 25

giving back BCRFA Presents Another Record-Breaking Donation By JOSH TILL On February 7, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA) presented $875,000 — its largest donation to date — to the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. With this record-breaking gift, the BCRFA has donated more than $6 million since its inception in 1996 to UAB for breast cancer research. The BCRFA makes an annual donation to the Cancer Center with proceeds from all its fundraising efforts during the previous year, including BCRFA events, corporate and individual donations, and sales of the breast cancer specialty license plate tags. The latter contributes a significant portion to BCRFA’s annual donation. Available at motor vehicle license offices across the state, the breast cancer research tag is one of the most popular specialty tags in Alabama, with more than 10,000 vehicles sporting it. “We are extremely thankful for another record-breaking donation from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, whose support allows us to bring the most innovative care to our cancer patients and, as an extension, to their families,” says Edward Partridge, M.D., Cancer Center director. “Although we have made significant progress in the fight against breast cancer, sustained funding is critical to continued success. The longstanding partnership between the BCRFA and the Cancer Center provides UAB investigators with the resources to accelerate discovery and translate this new knowledge into meaningful therapies for all types of breast cancer. ” The BCRFA provides pilot funding for several projects ranging from examining immune system response in patients with triple-negative tumors to evaluating a new compound, UAB-30, for its ability to prevent breast cancer, to developing therapies to prevent DNA repair in breast cancer tumor cells. Other research support includes studies examining the effects of integrative medicine on quality of life and survivorship among breast cancer patients. The BCRFA has helped the Cancer Center’s breast cancer research program become recognized as one of the nation’s premier research programs for the disease. The foundation donates all proceeds exclusively to the Cancer Center and is supported by generous donors and corporate sponsors across Alabama. To learn more about the BCRFA or to get involved, visit bcrfa.org. # K N O W U A B C C C • U A B . E D U / C A N C E R 23