Karl Ege introduced his close friend and our speaker for the day, Dr. Gary Gilliland, President and Director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Gilliland thanked Karl for inviting him to come out west. He appreciated that he got more applause than John Steckler. Fred Hutch is the only cancer research center named after a professional baseball player. Fred Hutchinson died at 44 of lung cancer. He likely would not have died had he been alive today, thanks to advances in cancer treatment.Dr. Gilliland stands by his prediction of cures for all cancers by 2025. He came to Rotary in 2015 to talk about potential and he feels very good about the progress made since then. Though criticized for this statement, he stands by it and continues to call on scientists to get on the stick and do everything to make it happen. They need to work fast because people may die from cancers that could be cured soon.
We were shown a photo of the Fred Hutch campus in South Lake Union. Technology and data science is very important in cancer research. Their area of responsibility covers 27% of the landmass of the US.
Gary’s favorite PR photo is of Ichiro Suzuki leaping in the air to catch a fly ball in front of the Fred Hutch sign at Safeco Field. He also showed us a video of the scrappy team of scientists who developed the bone marrow transplant as a cure for leukemia. More than a million patients worldwide have received this treatment.
At Fred Hutch, they are learning to use our own body’s immune system to target and defeat cancer. Already, they can grow cells in the lab and then get them back into patients. This cure has no toxicity.
They are beginning to unlock the secrets of fighting the disease. They cured Jimmy Carter by developing a medicine that flipped a switch on his T cells at the age of 89.
Fred Hutch has many supporters, including Microsoft and Amazon, who help process the large amounts of data it uses. Now, they are investigating whether a machine can do some parts of therapy better than a person. Already there is a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) to prevent uterine and genital tract cancers.
How can we help Fred Hutch? Vote for political leaders who will keep funds available for research. It is a bipartisan effort. Some medicines cost $120,000 per treatment. To cure some people, medical bills can reach amounts of $400,000 to $600,000. As a nation, we need to figure out a way for our health programs to cover everyone, not just at high-end centers.
Gary concluded by saying that Fred Hutch is the best cancer center in the world. Call him if you need help. “We are making incredible progress and we want to fix kids who have cancer. We appreciate the support of Rotary,” he said.
To begin the meeting, Don Murphy and Marli Iverson led The Star Spangled Banner in the key of G (the lowest key they could find) to help with those high notes. At last, a key I can sing it in.
David Brenner delivered the day’s inspiration, telling about how he lost his wife, the center of their family, and lost part of his identity. Our brain wires itself in the direction of the ones we love. “It is a curious paradox of life that to more fully understand ourselves we need to see ourselves through the prism of our close relationships with others,” said David. What we hope will come across about ourselves is not always what does, he added. David thanked the Heavenly Father for the gifts that we see in each other.
We had five visiting Rotarians today and many visitors including a group from Fred Hutch.
John Steckler thanked us for the smattering of applause as he took the stage. He complained that he had to cut best jokes under threat from Sergeant-at-Arms Ken Grant. John introduced new member Kela Hall, who brought her husband along. We got to hear the story of how he and Kela met. We also heard how he asked her to marry her during a phone call. Kela has worked for the University of Phoenix and now she helps women to get jobs at the decision-making level. Welcome Kela, we’re glad to have you!
Lacey Clark shared an event on November 10 that gives members a chance to volunteer with search and rescue at the Union Gospel Mission. Your bed never feels so good as after you volunteer to work with the homeless. Daniel Pologe invited Rotarians to Seattle City Rotaract’s social at Nightmare at Beaver Lake on October 27. Kevin Crane invited all members to the Keeks Meeting on Thursday, October 18 at 5:30 pm at the Washington Athletic Club.
Jeffrey Borek, President of the Seattle Rotary Service Foundation, shared highlights of our good work done through the foundation. The annual contribution is a unique opportunity to do some good in the world.
Next week Kim Wyman, Secretary of State will talk about election security
To close the meeting, President Cindy shared these parting words:
- Striving is more important than arriving.
- “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that that don’t work,” words by Thomas Edison.
