News & Stories

CAMDEN, N.J.— George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of Cooper University Health Care, and Susan Bass Levin, President and CEO of The Cooper Foundation, announced today that the Sixth Annual Pink Roses Teal Magnolias Brunch raised $625,000 for breast and gynecologic cancer research and clinical programs at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.

“MD Anderson Cooper is leading the way in cancer care throughout the region,” said Norcross. “The generosity of our community helps support research and clinical programs that will enhance cancer care and treatment for women right here in South Jersey and throughout the world.”

More than 800 women attended this year’s brunch held at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, N.J.  The event honored Drs. Meredith Crisp, Lydia Liao, and Francis Spitz, and Patricia Steines, RT, RM, director of Outpatient and Women’s Breast Imaging Services, with the Pink and Teal Hero Award for their outstanding contributions to cancer care and treatment. (Bios of the honorees are included below.)

“Each year, breast and gynecologic cancers claim the lives of more than 65,000 women in the United States,” said Levin. “Pink Roses Teal Magnolias is about fighting for them and for all who come after, and about honoring our champions at Cooper, who are on the front lines of this battle, saving lives every day.”

This year’s Pink Roses Teal Magnolias program included a “Fight Song” flash mob, a Survivors Parade to recognize all cancer survivors in attendance, a health fair, raffles, a silent auction and a live auction.

The event also featured inspiring stories from Ilene Grossman of Voorhees, an ovarian cancer survivor; Debby Madiraca of Westmont, a breast cancer survivor; Ginger Schintzer of Plainsboro, a breast cancer survivor, and Rachel Taylor of Mt. Laurel, who underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed BRCA positive.

The brunch was co-chaired by Donna Forman, Janet Knowles, Josephine McGinness, Theresa Sentel, Carolyn Shelby, Mary Ann Todd, and Drs. Generosa Grana, Kristin Brill, and David Warshal. Presenting sponsors were Debra Fogel and Barbara Spingler; Donna and Rick Forman of Forman Mills, and Vahan and Danielle Gureghian.

Since the first brunch in 2010, fundraising for Pink Roses Teal Magnolias has raised a total of $3 million. Funds have been used to support research to improve care for cancer patients; provide patients in need with small grants to help pay for prescriptions, transportation, utility bills and food, and support the Tea Cart, an inspirational initiative through the Dr. Diane Barton Complementary Medicine program in which employees volunteer to serve snacks to patients and their families during chemotherapy.

Pink & Teal Hero Award Recipients

• Meredith P. Crisp, MD, FACOG, is a gynecologic oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, where she also serves as residency research program director. In addition, Crisp is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. She earned her medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington and completed her internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. Crisp completed her fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida. An early adopter of the da Vinci Robotic Surgery System, Crisp uses this minimally invasive approach to gynecologic surgery when possible. Its chief benefit is a shorter recovery time, so women can recover or move on to the next phase of their treatment that much faster.
• Lydia Liao, MD, PhD, MPH, is the director of the Cooper Breast Imaging Centers for Cooper University Health Care and is an associate professor of radiology at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Born and raised in China, Liao earned her medical degree from Beijing Medical University, a master’s degree in public health from Beijing Medical University School of Public Health, and a PhD in nutrition/immunology from the University of Illinois. She completed her residency in radiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and her fellowship in women’s imaging and cross-sectional imaging at the University of Toronto. Liao has been a tireless champion for acquiring cutting-edge technology that makes early detection faster, easier and more accessible. Under her leadership, Cooper has new technology, SenoBright Contrast- Enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM) and 3-D mammography, increasing breast cancer early detection, especially in younger women with dense breast tissue. Cooper breast imagers are now able to provide answers sooner.
• Francis R. Spitz, MD, FACS, is deputy director of MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. He also serves as vice chief of the Department of Surgery and head of the Division of General Surgery for Cooper University Health Care, and is a professor of surgery at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Spitz earned his medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, completed his internship and general residency at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, and completed his surgical oncology fellowship training at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Spitz had a key leadership role in developing the partnership between Cooper and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
• Patricia Stienes, RT, RM, is director of Outpatient and Women’s Breast Imaging Services at the Cooper Breast Imaging Centers for Cooper University Health Care. Stienes has worked as a radiologic technologist for nearly 44 years – the past decade at Cooper. She received her training in radiology technology at Bryn Mawr Hospital (now Main Line Health) and completed a fellowship in MRI at the University of Pennsylvania. Stienes also has advanced training in CT and mammography. A breast cancer survivor, Steines is a compassionate advocate for women who are dealing with cancer.

 

About the Cooper Foundation/Cooper University Health Care

The Cooper Foundation serves as the philanthropic, community outreach and community development arm of Cooper University Health Care, one of the largest health systems in southern New Jersey with over 100 outpatient offices and its flagship, Cooper University Hospital located in Camden, N.J. It is the premier university hospital serving South Jersey and

the Delaware Valley. Cooper has reaffirmed its role as a leader in medical education and research with the opening of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in 2012, the first four-year allopathic medical school in South Jersey. Cooper is renowned for signature programs in cardiology, cancer, critical care, pediatrics, trauma, orthopedics and neurosciences. Cooper is also home to the only state designated Children’s Hospital in South Jersey—the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper. Over the last decade, Cooper has transformed its Camden City neighborhood into the Cooper Health Sciences Campus. In October 2013, the new MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, a freestanding cancer center for comprehensive care, opened on the Health Sciences Campus.

 

About MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper
MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper is a fully integrated partnership between Cooper University Healthcare and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center – a world-renowned cancer center, which began in September 2013. MD Anderson at Cooper physicians adhere to the philosophy, process and guidelines set by MD Anderson in Houston, Texas, and patients receive the same proven practice standards and treatment protocols provided at MD Anderson. Disease-site specific multidisciplinary teams consisting of physicians, nurses and other clinical specialists work together to provide cancer patients with advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies, access to wide range of groundbreaking clinical trials and dynamic patient-physician relationships.  A full complement of support services provides complete, compassionate care for our patients. MD Anderson at Cooper is the only accredited American College of Surgeons Academic Cancer Program in South Jersey.  Cancer services are based in Camden at the new $100 million MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper located on the Health Sciences Campus as well as in Voorhees, New Jersey.