Life Beyond Cancer Foundation Adds Bob Ingram to its Board of Directors

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Life Beyond Cancer Foundation is proud to announce that Robert (Bob) A. Ingram, general partner at Hatteras Venture Partners and former CEO/Chairman of GlaxoWellcome, has joined its Board of Directors. The Life Beyond Cancer Foundation is dedicated to fulfilling the unmet needs of cancer patients across America by helping them with financial and emotional support and by funding educational programs in conjunction with established community organizations to prevent cancer and encourage early detection. Patients interested in seeking financial and emotional support should visit the Web site at www.lifebeyondcancer.org. Financial assistance is available for every day living expenses such as rent/mortgage, food, utilities and car payments for cancer patients in active treatment.

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As CEO/Chairman of GlaxoWellcome, Ingram led the merger and integration that formed GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the world's second largest pharmaceutical company. Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60, he was asked by the Board to serve as Vice Chairman Pharmaceuticals. He serves as chairman of OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and lead director of VALEANT Pharmaceuticals International, and serves on the Board of Directors of Allergan Inc., Cree, Inc., Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, and Lowe's Companies, Inc.

Ingram brings to the Life Beyond Cancer Foundation years of expertise to help the foundation formulate a more national approach. In 2006, Ingram was asked by former US President George H.W. Bush to form and chair the CEO Roundtable on Cancer. Ingram is a member of numerous other civic and professional organizations and in January, 2004, was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for International Service. On July 27, 2006, Ingram was appointed by former US President George W. Bush to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Advisory Board.

"It is with great pleasure that I accept this position on the Life Beyond Cancer Foundation board," says Ingram.  "I am proud to join the others who have a deep commitment helping patients and their families in their journey with cancer."

The Life Beyond Cancer Foundation board, including Chairman Lloyd Everson, M.D., vice chairman and one of the founding members of US Oncology, Inc.; George Lindahl, III, philanthropist and managing partner of Sandefer Capital Partners; and Armin Weinberg, Ph.D., director of the Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Research Center (CDPCR) at Baylor College of Medicine and co-founder of the Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC), is proud to have devoted more than $150,000 in financial assistance and survivorship programs and served more than 200 patients with financial and emotional support in its first year of business.

It is through Everson's vision that the foundation was created, and he helped to guide the board to its mission of filling unmet needs in the cancer care community. Everson is a member of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, C-Change, NIH's National Cancer Advisory Board, and ICC.

"A cancer diagnosis can be devastating - physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. As oncologists, we focus on the physical aspects of healing. The Life Beyond Cancer Foundation was created to help patients with their silent, unspoken needs," says Everson. "Foundations that help patients gain financial assistance for treatments already exist throughout the nation. We wanted this foundation to fill the gaps where patients' needs were not yet being met. We're still in our infancy, but I can see this foundation growing to help ease the financial and emotional burden for thousands of patients in the upcoming years. We have a strong mission - we now need to focus on gaining additional funding to help us meet the increasing needs of patients."

"I have truly appreciated being part of the foundation's early growth and I look forward to expanding our programs in 2010 to help even more cancer patients," said Lindahl.

Lindahl is the former vice chairman of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and served as Chairman and CEO of Union Pacific Resources. He is a stout philanthropist in cancer care and in the local community where he resides and has helped the foundation raise tens of thousands of dollars and is committed to the foundation's goals of nationwide expansion.

Weinberg, a professor of medicine, serves as director of the Chronic Disease Prevention & Control Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. He has received numerous community awards including the National Patient Advocate Foundation - National Health Care Hero Award, the American Cancer Society – Humanitarian Award, Volunteer Houston's Lifetime Member Award, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation -- Jill Ireland Award for Volunteerism for work on behalf of the ICC, to name just a few. Weinberg currently serves as chair of the Cancer Alliance of Texas.

"The Life Beyond Cancer Foundation is meeting important needs for cancer patients and their families," says Weinberg. "Our initial financial assistance program is designed to keep patients on treatment by helping to alleviate the financial stressors of everyday life. Adding board members like Bob will help us expand our network and resources."

To enhance survivorship, the Foundation adopted the Life Beyond Cancer retreat. On Dec. 10, 2009, the retreat celebrated its 10th anniversary of helping cancer patients, oncology nurses, and oncology social workers rekindle their minds, bodies and spirits as they learned advocacy strategies to bring good will and helpful programs back to their own communities. The Life Beyond Cancer retreat became a program of the renamed Life Beyond Cancer Foundation in 2009. The mission of the retreat and the foundation remain the same, but the foundation name was changed to better reflect its mission. Planning is underway for the 2010 retreat.

The Foundation's mission is to enhance cancer care in local communities by removing barriers to prevention, education, early detection, treatment and survivorship. Cancer prevention and awareness, financial assistance for every day living expenses, and meaningful programs for cancer survivors serve as the cornerstones.

"We are excited to have Bob join the board in 2010. We have lofty goals this upcoming year and wish to serve as a true benefit to patients across America," says Ann Wolford, executive director of the Life Beyond Cancer Foundation. "Millions of people face cancer each year. The struggle of paying for treatment can be as daunting as the treatment itself. The Life Beyond Cancer Foundation serves to provide relief for the everyday living expenses that continue to burden patients as they fight to maintain their health and their normal daily lives."

To make a donation, gain assistance, or find out more information about the foundation, visit www.lifebeyondcancer.org, or call Ann Wolford at 1-800-381-2637.

About the Life Beyond Cancer Foundation

The Life Beyond Cancer Foundation advances cancer care in local communities by removing the barriers to prevention, education, early detection, treatment and survivorship. By working with local nonprofit and community organizations, the foundation helps cancer patients with funding for everyday living expenses and helps to educate the community about cancer prevention and early detection through lifestyle changes and screening. To make a donation, or for more information, visit www.lifebeyondcancer.org.

SOURCE Life Beyond Cancer Foundation