Center for Colon Cancer Research (CCCR) at the University of South Carolina

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Young champions: Siblings, University unite to ‘unmask’ colon cancer
Two Spartanburg-area siblings who lost their mother to cancer are partnering with the University’s colon cancer researchers and their annual Unmasking Colon Cancer Ball. Their aim is to increase public awareness of the disease as well as colonoscopy screening opportunities for underserved populations, badly needed in South Carolina to reduce loss of life from the nation’s second-deadliest form of cancer.

Anne Brady Moore Carlson and her brother, John Moore (right), were in high school when their mother, Betty Ann Moore, was diagnosed with an advanced stage of colon cancer. They were in college when she died Dec. 21, 2002. She lived more than three years with the illness, becoming an important advocate for colorectal cancer awareness. Still in their 20s, her children have become young advocates of colorectal cancer education, outreach, awareness, and prevention.

The event’s third rendition, named the 2009 Unmasking Colon Cancer Beach Ball, will be held March 7, 2009, in the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, honoring Moore on her birthday. Requested attire is described as “Palm Beach chic.” March also coincides as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Carlson serves as ball co-coordinator with Anjee Davis, director of community relations and program administration for the University’s Center for Colon Cancer Research. The two have become good friends the past three years. Carlson and her brother help underwrite the event.

“It’s a rare opportunity to work with two individuals like Anne Brady Moore Carlson and John Moore who are incredibly spirited and passionate about the prevention of colon cancer,” Davis says. “They have turned a personal loss into a legacy their mother would be proud of.”

How the Ball Has Evolved
The first ball in 2007 was a masquerade affair in Charleston. The second was a black-tie affair held in Columbia at the South Carolina State Museum. Those attending the second ball included former University President Andrew Sorensen. Organizers raised more than $100,000 for colon cancer education and outreach, and the event grew tremendously in turnout and donations, doubling in support and turnout by its second event, attended by 300 supporters.

“The University has really supported us,” Davis said.

This year’s “Beach Ball” sand-and-surf, “Palm Beach” theme will feature the auctioning of painted flamingos courtesy of caring artisans involved in the fight against colon cancer. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Center for Colon Cancer Research.

Carlson says her mother would have loved to attend. She describes Betty Ann Moore as having been a “social butterfly” comfortable in nearly every setting who, when she wasn’t giving her time to Mobile Meals for seniors, “loved a good party.” So making the third annual ball the most successful yet will be especially meaningful to Carlson and Moore.

“She (Betty Ann Moore) wasn’t a quiet lady. She picked up her phone and called everybody,” Carlson told fellow members of the University’s Cancer Research Center Leadership Council, in describing how her mother handled her diagnosis. “She was still very active when she was sick. Of all the people I have ever known, she was a true fighter who lived each day to the fullest.” Moore adds, “She was very dedicated and determined to fighting her disease. People have been very supportive of us because of that.”

Battling Colon Cancer on Their Terms
Just a few years removed from college, Carlson and Moore are fighting colon cancer at a young age with their family resources, inspired by their parents. Fate can be especially hard on a family: Their father, Bill Moore, died from bladder cancer in March 2005. He was a business leader in South Carolina who was the owner and president of Sally Foster Gift Wrap Inc.

Carlson and Moore created a fund in partnership with the Spartanburg County Foundation, allowing them to direct resources to charitable causes statewide. That fund led to creation of the Betty Ann Moore Colon Cancer Awareness Fund, managed through a partnership with Spartanburg Regional. The fund is state pilot program aimed at increasing awareness of colorectal cancer through educational programs and events. Carlson and Moore have benefited Spartanburg colorectal cancer awareness by arranging their own conferences on the topic.

“Our partnership with the folks at the Center for Colon Cancer Research will allow us to take this pilot program statewide,” Moore says.

“My goal has always been to reduce mortality from colon cancer one life at a time,” says his sister, who worked three years for a Boston-area firm researching colon cancer at the genetic level.

The siblings’ partnership with Spartanburg Regional also provides colonoscopy funds for those who are under-insured. Data from patients is made available to state cancer researchers including Dr. Frank Berger, director of the Center for Colon Cancer Research.

Davis describes Carlson and Moore as “young champions of their cause.” She and Carlson have become friends after first meeting in March 2006 during a Spartanburg event called “Colorectal Cancer in South Carolina: From the Benches to the Trenches.” They were introduced courtesy of a mutual acquaintance, Jo-Ellen De Luca, a colon cancer survivor who’s also involved with ball coordination.

Each March, Davis draws from donated funds to place more than 200 billboards around the state, directing those who have not received a colonoscopy screening to do so. She has received e-mails from individuals who say the billboards saved their lives. Every day, six Palmetto state families learn that a loved one has colon cancer. Two of those six will not survive. Yet early diagnosis through colonoscopy screenings makes colorectal cancer among the most preventable of cancer-related deaths with a 95 percent survival rate.

More than 500 patrons are expected to attend the 2009 Unmasking Colon Cancer Beach Ball. With that level of support, a new plateau of donor generosity is likely, Davis says.

Music will be provided by General Johnson and Chairmen of the Board. Tickets are $100 per individual, $150 per couple. For information, contact Anne Brady Moore Carlson, (864) 706-3662; or Anjee Davis, (803) 777-7325.

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CCCR is supported by NIH COBRE grant P20 RR17698 from the National Center for Research Resource/National Institute for Health
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