For the 36th straight year, the Oklahoma chapter of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars has made a gift in support of cancer research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. With this donation, the Auxiliary has now given over $100,000 to OMRF.
“For more than three decades, the Ladies Auxiliary to the VFW has been a dedicated supporter of cancer research at OMRF,” said OMRF Development Director Meredith Miers. “This remarkable track record of generosity has helped pave the way for many important cancer research projects.”
OMRF researchers are currently studying the use of magnetic resonance imaging as an early detection and treatment tool for brain and liver cancer. They are also examining the role that free radicals — highly reactive oxygen molecules — play in the onset of cancer. Ultimately, OMRF scientists hope to show that certain compounds used to “trap” these molecules are effective agents for battling the disease.
Cancer research at OMRF has already led to a promising new test that will help predict which women are at risk for breast cancer. The test, known an OncoVue, is expected to reach the market within a year.
“Friends like the Ladies Auxiliary make everything we do at OMRF possible,” said Miers. “We are deeply grateful for their help.”
Founded in 1914, the Auxiliary has more than 767,000 members nationwide. In addition to raising funds for cancer treatment and research, the Auxiliary awards scholarships through its Voice of Democracy Program and provides more than eight million hours of volunteer service in local communities.
OMRF (www.omrf.org) is one of the oldest, most respected biomedical research institutes in the country. Chartered in 1946, the nonprofit foundation is dedicated to understanding and curing human disease. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease.
