GlobalGiving.org: Help Find a Cure for Breast Cancer

Wrapping up 2011

Halee Sage — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:58:59 GMT

Fall has certainly been busy for the Lynn Sage Foundation. In October, in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we orchestrated the Chicago’s In Good Taste campaign in which participating restaurants, salons and retail outlets ask their patrons to contribute $1 or more to their total bill with all proceeds going directly to support breast cancer research. We’re still tallying the dollars raised, but thanks to the over 100 partnering establishments, we raised over $40,000 toward breast cancer research in Chicago.

We are also thankful to the Chicago Merchandise Mart, who invited us to be one of four beneficiaries of LuxeHome’s third annual CHILL event. This international wine and culinary event, located in the first floor of the Chicago Merchandise Mart, features superb wines paired with the finest cuisine from world renown chefs and raised over $20,000 for our cause.

There is still much work to be done but as we wrap up 2011 we are thankful for the generosity and support we continue to garner and are optimistic for the progress in research will see in 2012.

Chicago's In Good Taste

Halee Sage — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:34:14 GMT

It’s hard to believe that summer is almost past and that The Lynn Sage Foundation is gearing up for our fourth annual Chicago’s In Good Taste Campaign. With close to 125 restaurants, salons and stores committed to helping us raise funds for breast cancer research, we’re hoping to raise $75,000. When you dine at participating locations, donations ($1 per check – or more if you desire) will beneﬁt The Lynn Sage Scholars Program at Northwestern University.

Current 2011 partners are:

Restaurants

404 Wine Bar
Adobo Grill
Antiprema
Autre Monde Café & Spirits
Avec
Bangers & Lace
Basil Leaf Café
Benchmark
Bijan's
Bistronomic
Blackbird
Bluegrass - Highland Park
BOKA
Bridge House Tavern
Brownstone Tavern & Grill
Café des Architectes - Sofitel Hotel
Café Bionda
Cantina No 46
Cape Cod at The Drake Hotel
Chicago Bagel Authority - Armitage & Belmont
Chicago Cut Steakhouse
Citiscape Bar
Citizen
Club Lucky
Corcoran's Grill & Pub
Coq d'Or at The Drake Hotel
Crossing
The Crossroads Bar & Grill
Custom House Tavern
Dublin's
Duchamp
Emerald Loop
Epic
Ethyl's
Fiorentino's
Four Seasons Hotel
Francesca's Group - (all 20 Chicagoland locations)
Gaslight Bar and Grille
Gemini Bistro
The Grille on Laurel
Heaven on Seven
Hot Chocolate
Howl at the Moon
Hub 51
IPO - W Chicago City Center
Italian Village
ItaliAsia - The Best of Both Worlds
Jack's Bar and Grill
John's Place - Lincoln Park & Roscoe Village
Justins
Kirkwood Bar and Grill
La Cantina Grill
Le Colonial
Lockwood at the Palmer House Hilton

Lux Bar
Marcello’s Restaurant – Lincoln Park & Northbrook
Marge's
Marigold Indian Restaurant
Mastro's
Mizu Yakitori and Sushi Lounge
MK
Moonshine
Motel Bar
Mystic Celt
N9NE Steakhouse
Palm Court at The Drake Hotel
Paris Club
Park Grill Chicago
Piccolo Sogno
Potter's Lounge at The Palmer House Hilton
Publican
Purple Pig
Quartino
Redd Herring
Redhead Piano Bar
Rock Bottom
Rosebud Steakhouse
Rustic House
Salpicon
Sarah's Pastries & Candies
Schoolyard Tavern
Shiraz on the Water
Sidebar
Socca
Sola
Stanley's
Swirlz Cupcakes
Table 52
Tavern on Rush
Theory
Timothy O'Tooles
Tiny Lounge
Tocco
Vinci
Westend
Wow Bao – Jackson Blvd, North Michigan Ave, & Wacker Drive
Zodiac at Neiman Marcus Michigan Avenue

Media Partners

Today's Chicago Woman
CS Magazine
Kevin Moore
OpenTable

Non-Restaurants

George The Salon
Jill Alberts Jewelry
Marianne Strokirk Salons

Links:

Recognizing Mother's Day and Looking Ahead

Halee Sage — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:46:09 GMT

While our current scholar Dr. Cheng and her team are busy investigating the biological components and pathways that control tumor metastasis and recurrence (which represent the two major obstacles in the successful treatment of cancer) the Lynn Sage Foundation Board continues to raise the necessary funds to support ground breaking research that will change the trajectory of breast cancer.

Our community of supporters is growing – we have welcomed several new Board Members and recently had an event at David Yurman in Chicago that brought out many new faces. In honor of Mother’s Day, for the second year, we offered virtual Mother’s Day cards to all donors who gave $25 or more during the two weeks leading up to the holiday. Thanks to a matching gift from Mesirow Financial we were able to raise $30,000.

As summer is approaching, we are beginning to once again gear up for our annual Chicago’s in Good Taste campaign. This month-long campaign has participating restaurants, salons and retail outlets ask their patrons to contribute $1 or more to their total bill with all proceeds going directly to support breast cancer research. Our goal is to have this years campaign, our fourth annual, raise $75,000.

New Lynn Sage Foundation Scholar

Halee Sage — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:05:18 GMT

It is with great excitement that we announce our 3rd Lynn Sage Scholar, Dr Chonghui Cheng, MD, PhD. Dr. Cheng received her medical degree from Peking University, Beijing, China and her PhD in Biochemistry with Dr. Stewart Shuman at Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York. Dr. Cheng then moved to Boston and did her postdoctoral training with Noble Laureate Phillip Sharp at the Center for Cancer Research, MIT. In August of 2007, Dr. Cheng joined the faculty at the Northwestern University of Hematology/Oncology as an Assistant Professor.

Research in Dr. Cheng's lab focuses on investigating the biological and components and pathways that control tumor metastasis and recurrence, which represent the two major obstacles in the successful treatment of cancer.

For carcinoma cells to break away from neighboring cells and invade to distal organs, they must lose cell-cell contact and become motile and invasive. These changes in cancer cell properties are governed by a process named epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Currently, the Cheng lab is investigating, at the molecular level, a critical role of several gene products in promoting EMT and breast cancer progression. They hope that their studies on dissecting the mechanisms of EMT and tumor progression may offer new strategies to predict disease prognosis and lead to identification of the therapeutic agents in inhibit EMT, thereby halting tumor progression.

Outside of work, Dr. Cheng enjoys cooking, sightseeing, and spending time with her family.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Wrap-up

Halee Sage — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:41:31 GMT

With the passing of October and Breast Cancer Awareness month, we are wrapping up our third annual Chicago’s In Good Taste Campaign. While the total has not yet been tallied, we’re hoping to have doubled our results from last year’s $30,000.

This campaign united close to 150 local businesses, predominantly restaurants, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The ultimate goal for the participating restaurants, dining services, spas and other organizations was to raise money for breast cancer research. When guests dined at the participating establishments or utilize participating services, patrons had the opportunity to donate $1 or more to the Lynn Sage Foundation. All donations generated benefit the Lynn Sage Scholars Program at Northwestern University.

We’ve also been fortunate enough to be asked to be one of four beneficiaries for the LuxeHome Chill event which features 30 luxury LuxeHome boutiques hosting top Chicago-area chefs and superb wines from winemakers worldwide.

“The Lynn Sage Foundation has given me the support to examine the role of obesity and obesity related genes in breast cancer. This will help our breast cancer patients live longer and better lives.”

-Virginia Kaklamani, MD, DSc, Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology

Preparing for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Halee Sage — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:58:26 GMT

Our current Scholar, Dr. Virginia Kaklamani has been working to identifying patients at high risk for breast, ovarian and colon cancers based on their genetic background. Dr. Kaklamani has been looking at novel genes and individual risk based on changes in these genes and has been working on several genes and their relation to cancer risk, most notably TGF-beta and adiponectin. One change in TGF-beta has been shown to be associated with increased colon and breast cancer risk in individuals who carry it. Also adiponectin, which is also related to obesity and diabetes, has also been found to change breast and colon cancer risk. The result of this research will help identify correctly high risk patients and offer these individuals better preventative measures (such as oophorectomy) or better screening strategies such as colonoscopies, MRIs of breast and more frequent mammograms.

Dr Kaklamani is also working on identifying risk factors for weight gain in women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer. It has been shown that women with breast cancer gain weight and this weight gain increases the chance of recurrence of their cancer. Dr Kaklamani has initiated a study to evaluate breast cancer related weight gain, looking at genes that may be responsible for the weight gain as well as treatment related effects.

As October, quickly approaches, we’re gearing up for our third annual Chicago’s In Good Taste Campaign. This campaign unites local businesses, predominantly restaurants, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The ultimate goal for the participating restaurants, dining services, spas and other organizations is to raise money for breast cancer research. When guests dine at the participating establishments or utilize participating services, patrons have the option to donate $1 or more to the Lynn Sage Foundation on the receipt of their purchase. Table cards, check presenters and posters explaining Chicago’s In Good Taste are provided to all partners. All donations generated benefit the Lynn Sage Scholars Program at Northwestern University. Last year we has over 100 participating restaurants and raised over $30,000.

Links:

also, look for us on facebook

Mother's Day Initiative

Halee Sage — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:37:25 GMT

There’s no better way to celebrate mom (or the other important women in your life) then with a card on Mother’s Day. This year, The Lynn Sage Foundation launched a new campaign around Mother’s Day to raise much needed funds for breast cancer research. For every $25 donation made between May 1 and Mother's Day, The Lynn Sage Foundation sent out an eCard that wished that special someone a Happy Mother's Day and let her know a donation had been made in her honor to find a cure for breast cancer.

With the generous backing of Mesirow Financial, who matched the first $15,000 donate, we were able to raise over $34,000 to support the Lynn Sage Scholar at the Northwestern Universities Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center.

Links:

http://www.lynnsagefoundation.org

Making Progress

Halee Sage — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:23:50 GMT

With the funds recently raised, Dr. Virginia Kaklamani has been working to identifying patients at high risk for breast, ovarian and colon cancers based on their genetic background. Dr. Kaklamani has been looking at novel genes and individual risk based on changes in these genes and has been working on several genes and their relation to cancer risk, most notably TGF-beta and adiponectin. One change in TGF-beta has been shown to be associated with increased colon and breast cancer risk in individuals who carry it. Also adiponectin, which is also related to obesity and diabetes, has also been found to change breast and colon cancer risk. The result of this research will help identify correctly high risk patients and offer these individuals better preventative measures (such as oophorectomy) or better screening strategies such as colonoscopies, MRIs of breast and more frequent mammograms.

Dr. Kaklamani is also working on identifying risk factors for weight gain in women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer. It has been shown that women with breast cancer gain weight and this weight gain increases the chance of recurrence of their cancer. Dr Kaklamani has initiated a study to evaluate breast cancer related weight gain, looking at genes that may be responsible for the weight gain as well as treatment related effects. “The Lynn Sage Foundation has given me the support to examine the role of obesity and obesity related genes in breast cancer. This will help our breast cancer patients live longer and better lives.” -Virginia Kaklamani, MD, DSc, Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology

Links:

Lynn Sage Foundation