A North Carolina couple has pledged $10 million to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for head and neck cancer research and treatment.
Charles and Daneen Stiefel of Raleigh, NC, established the Charles and Daneen Stiefel Chair in Cancer Research in 2009 with a $1 million gift in gratitude for the care Charles received as a patient at the cancer center, the university explained in a press release.
In honor of the new gift, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will name its Head and Neck Cancer Center the Charles and Daneen Stiefel Center for Head and Neck Cancer.
Stiefel, the former CEO of Stiefel Laboratories, is active on a committee that advises the institution on clinical business issues. Stiefel sought care at MD Anderson after being diagnosed in 2006 with squamous cell carcinoma at the base of his tongue. During what he thought was his final checkup, an ultrasound revealed a new malignant tumor on his thyroid gland. That cancer was eliminated through surgery, and today he's cancer-free.
The gift will help speed efforts to promote and translate oropharyngeal cancer research into more effective treatments with fewer side effects, according to MD Anderson.
