Two Faces of Cancer: Internationally Renowned Oncologist & Ovarian Cancer Expert Dr. Beth Karlan and Acclaimed Cancer Survivorship & Rehabilitation Pioneer Dr. Arash Asher Honored by Hundreds of Women Leaders at Tower Cancer Research Foundation's Magnolia Council Luncheon & Boutique on Monday, October 14, 2019 in Beverly Hills

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Oct 09, 2019, 08:09 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 600 influential and prominent women philanthropists and leaders in entertainment, politics, business and medicine will gather at Tower Cancer Research Foundation's (Tower) Magnolia Council Spirit of Hope Luncheon & Boutique, celebrating the 10^th anniversary of the Magnolia Council, on Monday, October 14, 2019 to honor visionary and internationally acclaimed oncologist and ovarian cancer expert Dr. Beth Karlan, and leader in cancer survivorship and rehabilitation initiatives, Dr. Arash Asher. With its focus on both innovative research and vanguard free patient support programs to help cancer survivors and their families respond to the challenges of cancer and life post-treatment, this year's distinguished Tower honorees represent the two faces of cancer, both of which are critical in navigating this disease. The boutique begins at 10:00 AM with the luncheon commencing at Noon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 9500 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, California.

The Magnolia Council together with luncheon honorees at Tower Cancer Research Foundation's Magnolia Council Spirit of Hope Luncheon & Boutique in 2017.

Magnolia Council Founder and former Board Chair of Tower Cancer Research Foundation at the Magnolia Council's Spirit of Hope Luncheon & Boutique in 2016

Since its inception in 2009, The Magnolia Council has raised millions of dollars in support of Tower's mission by generating broader community awareness through expanded social and fundraising events. This year, in addition to funding current research and patient support initiatives, the Magnolia Council is proud to help fund the creation of Dr. Karlan's Women's Health Research Biorepository at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), which is scheduled to open in February 2020. A biorepository, also known as a tissue bank, is a biological materials repository that collects, processes, stores, and distributes bio-specimens to support future scientific investigation. For over thirty years, Dr. Karlan has been a leader in building robust biorepositories for translational studies and early detection of cancer. The Women's Health Research Biorepository at UCLA will be a unique and standalone tumor/tissue bank with associated configurable data. This will provide researchers with the opportunity to study and track women's cancers at every stage of their development, as well as to better understand how genetic factors contribute to the causes of cancer.

Dr. Karlan is Professor and Vice Chair of Women's Health Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. She is also the Director of Cancer Population Genetics at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA. Dr. Karlan's research focuses on ovarian and other women's cancers as well as inherited cancer susceptibility. She has authored over 300 research publications and is an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor. Dr. Karlan is Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journals Gynecologic Oncology and Gynecologic Oncology Reports. In 2012, Dr. Karlan was appointed by the White House to serve on the National Cancer Advisory Board and in 2015, she was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine. In 2018, Dr. Karlan was named a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Arash Asher has served as the Director of Cancer Survivorship & Rehabilitation at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai since 2008. He has a special interest in the physical and rehabilitative needs of cancer survivors who continue to experience the effects of their cancer or its treatment. Dr. Asher has led the development a number of unique cancer survivorship programs with his colleagues, including Emerging from the Haze, GRACE and others with the goal of optimizing physical, psychological, and spiritual resilience for patients with cancer. Tower has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with Dr. Asher, working with him on a number of patient support programs, including the GRACE program. GRACE is a groundbreaking 6-week workshop for advanced stage cancer patients, which is designed to help them develop a toolkit for managing the process and challenges of end-stage disease. Designed as an interactive class built upon the philosophy of Dr. Viktor Frankl's classic work "Man's Search for Meaning," the class integrates tools and strategies, including a variety of activities, readings, and practical skills to help participants learn how to cope with fear, how to manage one's cancer journey, exploring redemption, gratitude, and loneliness, the role of humor, harnessing courage and perseverance, creating legacy, and dealing with advanced directives. Dr. Asher's research interests reflect his passion in improving outcomes for cancer patients and he currently has several active studies, including evaluating the role of Qi Gong for chemo-induced neuropathy and studying the impact of Improvisational Comedy on the well-being of breast cancer survivors.

Dr. Asher completed a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at the UCLA/Greater Los Angeles VA, and a cancer rehabilitation fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He is board certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

In addition to annually investing in the most innovative cancer research via funding select Tower research grants in Southern California, the Magnolia Council also helps fund Magnolia House, Tower's patient support division.

Magnolia House uses evidence-based research to provide the highest quality survivorship programs to those who have experienced a cancer diagnosis. Some of these constantly evolving programs include Reiki, Yoga, individual therapy, meditation, nutrition, groundbreaking educational survivorship workshops, art therapy and fitness programs customized to participants' abilities with a cancer-specialized instructor. All classes and programs are offered free of charge to anyone with a cancer diagnosis. Tower's goal is to help participants develop a physical and emotional toolkit to manage the challenges of the disease.

In the last two decades, Tower has raised well over $30 million, funding that supports a multitude of different scientific grants from one-year $100,000 Career Development Grants to five year $500,000 Senior Investigator Grants to $1,000,000 Multi-disciplinary Discovery Funds. Tower's Discovery Fund encourages the pursuit of high-risk, high-reward research projects by providing scientists with funding upfront, thereby removing barriers to entry. Tower believes that leading-edge and novel ideas may not yet qualify for traditional grant funding due to a lack of preliminary data. Tower also supports a variety of Southern California community partners who bring vital cancer programs to underserved populations throughout Los Angeles.

Luncheon tickets may be purchased at Tower's website or by calling 310.299.8477.

Media RSVP and Talent Inquiries: Rachel Schwartz/PR AdvantEDGE, Inc.

ABOUT TOWER CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: Tower has been the Southern California cancer patient's greatest ally since 1996. Tower provides grants for innovative research, caring patient support and community education to promote more effective treatments for cancer. As a leading independent, donor-directed community cancer research foundation, Tower is focused on funding Southern California initiatives with a global impact. Over the course of the last twenty years, Tower has raised well over $30 million -- resources that have funded specific groundbreaking research and patient support programs that are professionally vetted by committees comprised of local scientific and community leaders. In the last two decades, Tower has participated in over 200 clinical trials with thousands of patients and awarded almost $10 million in the last decade alone to dozens of physician scientists pursuing novel hypotheses, including over $3 million to talented young researchers through Career Development Grants. These young grantees often demonstrate such promising results that they later obtain large grants from other foundations and research institutions. Tower's initial $3 million investment has led to almost $40 million in additional clinical research funding. While there are many brilliant scientists performing cancer research, Tower recognizes the importance of nurturing the regional pool of rich research talent because important breakthroughs have come from unexpected directions and provided new perspectives. http://towercancer.org/