Chair of the Conquer Cancer Foundation Leads with Exuberance and
Meaningful Philanthropy
The Chair of ASCO's
Conquer Cancer Foundation speaks with eloquence, authority, and
passion when he talks about the Foundation's role in defeating
cancer, and about the honor and responsibility he feels as its
Chair.Martin J. Murphy, Jr, PhD, DMedSc, comes by these qualities
honestly. Chalk up his eloquence to the Irish in him. His authority
is firmly anchored by a lifetime of major accomplishments as a
researcher, entrepreneur, and executive, but equally by his legacy
as a philanthropist. His passion no doubt hearkens back to the
Irish again, but, in addition, he has a wealth of both passion and
compassion as a cancer survivor.
The Chance of a
Lifetime: Conquering Cancer
A top donor to the Conquer Cancer Foundation
(formerly The ASCO Cancer Foundation), Dr. Murphy sees the
opportunity to donate as a chance of a lifetime. "If you are
passionate about what the Foundation does and look to the future,
you see there is an opportunity to conquer cancer. If I don't do my
part, it will be left undone or have to be done by someone else,
leaving me unfulfilled."
He believes that
contributing to the Foundation also gives oncologists and other
caregivers the chance of a lifetime. The Foundation is changing the
future of patients with cancer by providing the financial
underpinning for many ASCO programs. "The treatment of patients in
the United States and in many parts of the world is being impacted
daily by ASCO because of education provided at the ASCO Annual
Meeting and disease-specific symposia. They are the quintessential
educational meetings of every calendar year."
Dr. Murphy points to
Cancer.Net, ASCO's patient information website, as another example
of how the Foundation directly supports patient care and the
oncology community's professional milieu. "It's the Foundation that
is enabling these major ASCO programs to go on."
Embracing Opportunity
with Passion
Dr. Murphy tells a story
about how his own cancer diagnosis led to his passion for embracing
opportunity. While he was awaking after emergency surgery,
surrounded by his wife and five children, his brother telephoned.
His wife placed the phone on his pillow, and he heard his brother's
voice: "Marty, do you know that the Chinese symbol for 'crisis' or
'catastrophe' can also be translated as 'opportunity'?"
Dr. Murphy continues,
"After initially thinking my brother had gone 'round the bend, the
anesthesia fog lifted and I began to understand what he was saying.
The crisis that had entered my life with this diagnosis could be a
chance of a lifetime-an opportunity for personal and family growth,
if I were able to embrace it in the right way." He emphasizes that
embracing this new opportunity is a daily exercise, not a single
event or change. "It is so intimate that it becomes a part of your
being-it becomes part of you."
Dr. Murphy sees
contributing to the Foundation as an opportunity for the oncology
community to make a commitment to their profession and to
participate in the renaissance of ASCO's 11-year-old Foundation,
which this year reaffirmed its mission and vision. "The renaissance
of the Conquer Cancer Foundation is building on the proud heritage
of The ASCO Cancer Foundation and on all that ASCO has done. The
Foundation is seeking more than contributions. It is inviting
partnership-exuberant support for its vision of a world free from
the fear of cancer. This is the opportunity to say 'I am taking a
stand that in my lifetime, I'm going to do all that I can to
conquer cancer-in my profession, from my own personal treasury, and
from my heart. Most of all, from my heart.'"
To contribute to a world
free from the fear of cancer and to learn about the Foundation's
programs, visit ConquerCancerFoundation.org. ■
