Dear John,

My name is Tom Hulsey, and I am a cancer survivor and a board member at Mary Crowley Cancer Research. Also, just prior to my own diagnosis I witnessed my best friend lose his own life to cancer; it was gut-wrenching. I was never a patient at Mary Crowley but the cancer treatments I received that allowed me to beat my cancer were available to me because they had been through rigorous clinical trials, like those at Mary Crowley Cancer Research, that test their efficacy and safety. It is only through this clinical trial process that new cancer treatments gain approval for treating cancer patients. Without organizations like Mary Crowley Cancer Research, I would not be alive today.

A recent study authored by The National Institute of Health found that cancer death rates in the U.S. are declining. The study noted that “treatment advances have led to accelerated declines in death rates” seeing an overall decline in cancer deaths between 2001 and 2018 of 2.3 percent in men and 1.9 percent in women. Many of those advances began right here at Mary Crowley Cancer Research. We helped pioneer the “Personalized Medicine” approach in cancer treatments. Cancerous tumors have genomic codes that doctors can use to know what kinds of trials will have the best chance of shrinking tumors. We are no longer concerned as to where the cancer is in the body but rather what is the genomic code of the tumor. We call these trials, "targeted trials," because they target tumors with certain genomic codes and there have been some very encouraging results, but more research is needed if we are to understand genomic codes completely.    

However, despite the encouraging news that cancer deaths are declining, and targeted trials are providing hope for so many cancer patients, The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 1.9 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in 2023. The fight against cancer is by no means over and we must continue to be aggressive against it. This is why I am asking for your support to help Mary Crowley Cancer Research expand its clinical trials and provide more options to our patients.  

Mary Crowley’s innovative approach to cancer research was recognized by D CEO Magazine by winning the 2022 Innovation in Healthcare award, and we will start a new collaboration, in 2023, with Urology Clinics of North Texas to open cancer trials in conjunction with their practice. An example of how we are always working to increase options for our patients. But it is funding from supporters like you that made this endeavor possible and continued funding will allow us to open even more trials.

Thank you for your time, attention, and support. To make a donation please visit marycrowley.org/donate.

Yours With Appreciation,

Tom Hulsey

Mary Crowley Cancer Research

Board Member