Houstonians Party Gatsby Style to Raise Funds for Ovarcome Cancer
Zory Ernull, Founder & President Runsi Sen, Guest of Honor Dr. Margaret Foti, Jerri Moore, Bhavana Bajaj & Scylla Lopez
Houston is known for its philanthropy and generosity. It is also known for hosting fun galas and parties, and a very large population of professionals from diverse communities are doing very exciting things to make a difference. For Runsi Sen hosting a gala is not just about fun and giving back, it means the world to her. Sen founded Ovarcome, a global ovarian cancer foundation in memory of her mother who died of ovarian cancer.
Ovarcome recently hosted their Third Annual Gala – Ovar The Moon: Great Gatsby themed where survivors, caregivers, physicians, patients, friends and champions of Ovarcome came together to rejoice and celebrate a beautiful evening in honor of the teal warriors. The evening was full of smiles and as everyone shuffled through in their 1920’s garb, the ballroom came alive for a night of Great Gatsby fun.
Photos Courtesy: Art Giraldo
Ovarcome Gala ballroom
Zory Ernull, Founder & President Runsi Sen, Guest of Honor Dr. Margaret Foti, Jerri Moore, Bhavana Bajaj & Scylla Lopez
Ovarcome Board & Advisory Board with Guest of Honor Dr. Foti: from left to right – Dr. Anirban Maitra, Rob Heifner, Dr. Aparna Kamat, Founder Runsi Sen, Juuhi Ahuja, Dr. Foti, Dr. Priya Bhosale, Betty White, Mike Beck, Dr. Anil Sood
Teal warriors Liz Stegall, Karen Shayne & Nancy Hernandez
Ovarcome Excellence Award
The Gala night was a celebration of the Teal Warriors a salute to survivors for their vigor and determination to fight the deadliest gynecological disease. To rejoice the celebration in attendance was guest of honor Dr. Margaret Foti, CEO of American Association of Cancer Research, who was bestowed with the Ovarcome Excellence Award, 2016. Dr. Foti is a longstanding patron in the fight for life. Dr. Foti has received many national and international awards for her contributions to cancer research.
The Teal Warriors of the evening were showered with love and recognition for their strength, beauty, and conviction in conquering the disease. Together, hand in hand, arms linked together in pride, each survivor celebrated their lives and what it meant to have one another. The message of “This too shall pass” resonated throughout the evening.
Ovarcome provides a foundation of support for many of these women diagnosed with this disease. Ovarcome is here to support women as they fight their battle against ovarian cancer. Ovarcome strives to diffuse boundaries and unite hearts in their mission to raise global awareness, fund research in search of a cure, and provide financial support to underprivileged women both here in the US as well as in developing nations in their valiant fight against ovarian cancer. Ovarcome is inspired by the simple philosophy of support, love, and celebration of life. Ovarcome’s dream is a world that is free from the scourge of cancer. Overcoming Cancer – Celebrating Life!
With an amazing emcee, Sharron Melton and thriving advisory board, hosts and live music by Bubba Greg Duo this year’s Gatsby themed Ovarcome gala was certainly over the moon.
Dr. Anil Sood & Kelly Sood
Dr. Nicole Fleming and honoree Deborah Garcia
Honoree Lynnsey Tirey with Dr. Anna Alaniz
Honoree Pat Ferreira with fellow survivor Leslie Newton
Sharon Secretan, Vicki Miller, Cindy Wendling and Sandy Miller
Ovarcome research award recipients Dr. Rebecca Arend, Dr. Monika Haemmerle, with Board Members Dr. Priya Bhosale, Dr. Aparna Kamat
Sandy Miller and honoree Tonya Childress
Honoree Betty White with Mike Beck
Juuhi Ahuja, Omprakash Ahuja & Divya Ahuja
Dr. Joseph Lucci with honoree Angelisa Hood
Survivor Beth Patterson with husband Jim Patterson
Norman Levine & Mitzi Levine
Spotted at the gala:
Dr. Margaret Foti, CEO of American Association For Cancer Research, Rob Heifner, CEO of St. Luke’s Sugar Land, Dr. Anil Sood, Director of Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program at MD Anderson, Dr. Anirban Maitra, Jerri Moore, Zory Ernull, Bhavana Bajaj, Scylla Lopez, Juuhi Ahuja, Mike Beck, Betty White, Dr. Nicole Fleming, Dr. Priya Bhosale, Sandy Miller, Joya Shukla, Kelli Elizondo, Dr. Ashish & Dr. Aparna Kamat, Farida Abjani, Karen Shayne, Dilip & Devina Bhojwani, King Banerjee, and honorees Lynnsey Tirey, Angelisa Hood, Tonya Childress, Pat Ferreira, and Deborah Garcia.
