It is nearly three years since Lynn’s death – on July 26, 2006 she succumbed to the insidious disease that we had lived with for more than ten years.  It is a time for reflection for me, and although I miss her as much today as I did then, she remains close in my heart through the Foundation she established and the work we are doing in her memory to fight advanced breast cancer.

I am most pleased with the Foundation’s new website which has been launched just this past week.   Not only does it have a bright new look and feel, but our capabilities have increased dramatically.  Our goal is to refresh it regularly with news, pictures, events, and breast-cancer related articles.   I hope you will visit us often, share the site with others, and use the site as a resource to keep tabs on our progress.

Our success to date would not be possible without the dedication of many terrific volunteers who have worked tirelessly in support of our fundraising events; the tremendous research partnership with:  Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York; UCSF Breast Cancer Center in San Francisco; and TGen in Phoenix, AZ; our medical advisory board:  Dr. Cliff Hudis of Sloan-Kettering; Dr. Hope Rugo of UCSF; Dr. Cliff Reid of Complete Geonomics, and our newest member, Dr. Heather Cunliffe of TGen.  I’m grateful to the sponsors of our events, those who attend our events, to family and friends, and to our donors who have reached out to join us in our battle against advanced breast cancer.  I am looking forward to working with our most recent research partner, the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, our home town.   It was at UH that Lynn was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996.  It is an honor for us that the doctors and scientists of this world-class cancer center will be part of our research family.

Coming up . . .
We’re excited about our events in 2009.  Our recent golf outing, Golf for a Cure, raised $32,000. The next event - also in Ohio – is the Walk for Hope at the Cleveland Zoo on August 15.   Our goal is to raise awareness for the Foundation at this family-oriented, fun-filled event. Kathryn Kuhnle and Annette Paul are co-chairs of the walk. Money raised from both these events will be invested in Advanced Breast Cancer Research projects at University Hospital Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland Ohio. In October there will be events in California and Arizona.   On October 4 we will kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month at a lunch to be held at Kincaid’s overlooking San Francisco Bay.  Lyle Sweeney and Dolores Stansfield are co-chairs.  There will be speakers, auction items, great food, and drink to raise money and awareness.  Dr. Hope Rugo and the UCSF breast cancer center will benefit from the proceeds.  October 23 will be the grand opening of L&M Home Entertainment’s North Scottsdale showroom.  To celebrate, L&M is the site of our Phoenix fund-raiser, Sight, Sound and  Taste for a Cure.   Besides L&M, our partners in hosting this event will be renowned local chef, Eddie Matney of Eddie’s House restaurant, SuVino Winery and Ambassador Cigars.  The evening promises to be filled – as advertised – with exciting sights, sounds and tastes and a lot of fun. Kelly Hundelt and I are co-chairs of this event. Money raised from this event will be invested in Advanced Breast
 Cancer Research at TGen in Phoenix.

You will be able to read more about these events and register online at this site.

A very special thanks . . .
Our heartfelt thanks to Rob Davidson and his firm, DavidsonBelluso (www.davidsonbelluso.com), who built this website and have been invaluable working with us on marketing and public relations for the Foundation.   Rob and his team have worked tirelessly to create a site that represents us so beautifully and allows us the capability to grow and expand technically.   It has been a terrific experience working with them.

Finally . . .
I am proud of the Foundation and the progress we’ve made in the three years since Lynn’s death – and again, I am grateful to all those who have touched us and contributed to our success.   Thank you in advance for your continued support.   

Allen J. Gula, Jr.
Foundation Chairman

 

The number of deaths due to metastatic breast cancer is slowly decreasing in the USA, a trend generally attributed to broad screening with breast examination and mammography along with standardized treatment approaches for early stage disease. However, the absolute decrease in annual deaths measured over the past 15 years is relatively modest and we still suffer about 110 deaths from this disease each and every day.

These deaths occur because once breast cancer is detected beyond the breast and lymph nodes it is typically incurable and develops resistance to any and all known therapies. At the same time it is very important to recognize that outcomes vary widely for individual patients. In the past few years there has been a remarkable increase in our understanding of the molecular biology of breast cancers in the laboratory perhaps providing a partial explanation for some of the clinical variations we see but also opening many new avenues for clinical research. Translating these laboratory advances into meaningful clinical improvements is complex because it involves careful selection of appropriate patients, identification of active drugs, rapid accrual of clinical trials, and efficient sharing of research results.

All of this requires a robust research infrastructure but unfortunately, this need for increased investment has coincided with a period of relatively decreased public funding for cancer clinical trials. While my personal research is focused on the development of a range of specific treatments based on interesting observations made in the laboraties of collaborating scientists, I am at the same time dedicated to raising resources for investigators everywhere working to improve outcomes for patients with metastatic breast cancer, and increasing public and professional awareness of the opportunities and challenges before us through education and outreach.

 

2008 has been a difficult year for many - individually and as a nation. Despite the very difficult economy and financial chaos (unprecedented in many of our lifetimes), the Foundation has marked its most successful year to date.

Because of the donations and support we've received, we have been able to provide both the TGen Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Breast Cancer Center in New York with funding to undertake projects targeted at advanced breast cancer research. In recent meetings with their research teams, it's obvious the Foundation is making a difference through the partnerships we've forged with these two prestigious organizations.

The Foundation very much appreciates the support of our family, friends, and dedicated individuals who have contributed to our success.

As we approach year-end, please consider making a donation and telling your family and friends about the Foundation.

Our sincere gratitude for enabling the Foundation to carry out its mission this year, and our thanks in advance for your support going forward. May the peace and joy of the holiday season be with you.

With sincere thanks,
Allen J. Gula, Jr.
Foundation Chairman

As we recognize October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I reflect over the past year and the opportunities the Foundation has had to participate in the fight against this terrible disease.

As a result of several very successful fund-raisers earlier this year and due to the dedicated support of those who join us in our battle against breast cancer -- our friends and family, sponsors, donors, board members and event participants -- the Foundation has been able to commit funding to two significant advanced breast cancer research trials.

Recently we donated $200,000 to the TGen Foundation to expand its studies of breast cancer. TGen (www.tgen.org) is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

This $200,000 in funding will specifically support a two-part genomics project under the direction of Dr. Heather Cunliffe, who leads the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Research Lab at TGen and her colleague, Dr. Steve Anthony, a senior investigator at TGen and the Chief Medical Officer of TGen Drug Development. Their aim is to develop more effective drug treatments for advanced breast cancer.

"The funding from the Mountains of Hope Foundation will allow us to conduct a study where we periodically 'spot check' the cancer on a genetic level to determine how well it responds to therapy," Cunliffe said.

The first phase of the TGen project will be a pilot study to develop and refine genetic technologies. The second phase will be a clinical trial that will compare the treatment response and outcome of stage IV breast cancer patients.

A second donation of $50,000 is being made to Memorial Sloan Kettering (www.mskcc.org) in support of a study being done by Dr. Jacqueline Bromberg (a colleague of one of our medical advisers, Dr. Cliff Hudis) on breast cancer stem cells and metastases.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed among women worldwide. It is a heterogeneous disease which is characterized clinically by size, spread to lymph nodes, estrogen receptor expression and her2neu receptor expression which dictates treatment options. However, many patients have cancers which cannot be treated with targeted anti-estrogen or anti-her2neu therapies. Despite significant improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, tumor dormancy followed by distant recurrences accounts for 90% of all cancer deaths. Dr. Bromberg's study will involve studying "cancer stem cells" to better understand them, which is required in order to treat this potentially fatal disorder effectively. The results of this proposed work will likely define a new modality of therapy for patients with metastatic disease.

I am grateful and proud to share in the world-class research being done by these two prominent breast cancer research organizations. I would encourage you to invite your family and friends to visit our website (www.mountainsofhopefoundation.org) and consider a donation, particularly during Breast Cancer Awareness month. We welcome any feedback, and would appreciate hearing from you -- with an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you for your continued support of the Foundation through your generosity, your compassion, and for your concern and action to promote women's healthcare. Every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. Let us remember and pray for the 110 women a day who die from breast cancer and the hundreds of thousands who so desperately need hope -- particularly during this month of October. We believe all women with advanced breast cancer deserve a fighting chance.


Allen J. Gula, Jr.
Foundation Chairman

It was nearly 15 months ago; on July 26, 2006 my beloved wife Lynn (Marilyn Barry Gula, for whom the Mountains of Hope Foundation is named) lost her 10+ year battle with breast cancer. She died just a little less than a month shy of her 51st birthday.

During her lifetime, Lynn deeply touched so many people with her huge capacity of caring for others. Once diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996, her interest in improving the quality of life for cancer patients developed into a passion for eliminating the disease. In 2003, after volunteering for several years helping other cancer patients and their families, Lynn founded the Mountains of Hope Foundation. This organization designed from her own self—empowerment in which to channel her passion into funding advanced research projects focused on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment — WITH THE BELIEF THAT ALL WOMEN WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER DESERVE A FIGHTING CHANCE.

Many of Lynn's and my close friends and family have volunteered and contributed financially to ensure the ongoing success of the Foundation's mission. The importance of Lynn's vision of this Foundation is clearly critical to the advancement of prevention research. Lynn's struggle ended just 15 months ago, and since that day, the number of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States is estimated to be around 223,000. More than 50,000 women have passed away from breast cancer over those 15 months — OR 110 WOMEN PER DAY.

One our most achievable goals is to focus research funding on advanced stages of breast cancer. Several medical research institutions in the United States currently have progressive approaches to early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. As ONE IN EIGHT women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at one point in their life, more funding is needed to continue to improve and develop additional diagnostic measures, tools, and clinical studies. The Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation was created do just this: to fund specific research projects focused on the diagnosis and treatment of advanced stages of breast cancer and to improve early diagnostic tools to decrease the occurrence/recurrence of malignant tumors.

One of the unique characteristics of this Foundation is that all operational costs are paid for by our family. Every dollar donated to Mountains of Hope is applied directly to funding diagnostic and treatment research for advanced breast cancer.

During Breast Cancer Awareness month — October 2007 — there are many ways in which we can join forces to advance the mission of the Foundation. As a close friend or family member of ours, a friend of the Foundation, or someone affected by breast cancer, your caring and active involvement will make a difference. When we as individuals become part of a collective, our contributions become huge with incredible potential and power to heal.

I would encourage you not only to consider a donation, but to invite your family and friends to visit the website (www.mountainsofhopefoundation.org) and consider a donation as well, particularly during Breast Cancer Awareness month. We have strengthened our mission and have made some enhancements and additions to the site. We welcome any feedback, and would appreciate hearing from you — with an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you for your continued support of the Foundation through your generosity, your compassion, and for your concern and action to promote women's healthcare. Let us remember and pray for the 110 women a day who die from advanced breast cancer and the hundreds of thousands who so desperately need hope — particularly during this month of October. WE BELIEVE ALL WOMEN WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER DESERVE A FIGHTING CHANCE.


Allen J. Gula, Jr.
Foundation Chairman