The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, recently announced that Charles and Daneen Stiefel, of Raleigh, North Carolina, have pledged $10 million to the Head and Neck Cancer Center at MD Anderson. In honor of their generosity, the institution will name the Charles and Daneen Stiefel Center for Head and Neck Cancer.
Charles Stiefel, former chair and CEO of Stiefel Laboratories, is a member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors and is active on a key committee that advises the institution on clinical business issues. Devoted to supporting a number of health-related initiatives, the Stiefels are members of the Anderson Assembly, which recognizes donors of $1 million or more to the institution. The couple established the Charles and Daneen Stiefel Chair in Cancer Research in 2009 with a $1 million gift in gratitude for the care Charles Stiefel received as an MD Anderson patient.
Cancer Survivor
Mr. Stiefel sought care at MD Anderson Cancer Center after being diagnosed in 2006 in Miami with squamous cell carcinoma at the base of his tongue. During what he thought was his final checkup, an ultrasound revealed a new malignant tumor on his thyroid gland. That cancer was eliminated through surgery, and today he is cancer-free.
Mr. Stiefel credits his care team, Merrill S. Kies, MD, Professor of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, David I. Rosenthal, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology; and Randal S. Weber, MD, Chair of Head and Neck Surgery, with saving his life. ■
