M.D. Anderson’s Aspen Takeover Brings Tibetan Yoga to the Mountain Fun

What: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center splashdown in Aspen

Where: Aspen, Colorado

PC Moment: There were several splashdown moments actually as M.D. Anderson representatives, physicians and researchers offered insights to the cancer center’s research and treatments across two days of activities. The visit marked the 21st annual “Making Cancer History” seminar, held in Paepcke auditorium at Aspen Meadows Resort.

Seminar presenters included Alejandro Chaoul, PhD., assistant professor of integrative medicine; Dr. Katy Rezvani, Ph.D., professor of stem cell transplantation; and Dr. Alyssa Rieber, chair of general medical oncology, who not only made presentations but joined in a a question and answer session with the audience. Board of Visitors member Robert Nichols of Dallas served as emcee of the educational session which featured a testimonial from Ron Garfield of Aspen, a B-cell lymphoma survivor who was treated at M.D. Anderson.

Another interesting element of the event was the Tibetan yoga session, conducted by Chaoul, who is renowned for his beliefs that “meditation is the medicine of the mind.”

Highlight for many was the annual al fresco reception hosed by Barbara and Gerald Hines at their Aspen home, tucked on the banks of the Roaring Fork River. Some 175 M.D. Anderson supporters gathered for the cocktail buffet that was themed around France’s Bastille Day, decor complete with an Eiffel Tower replica. In addition to the seminar presenters, M.D. Anderson president Dr. Peter WT Pisters and his wife, Dr. Katherine Pisters, shared in the cancer center experience.

There was socializing fun and fundraising on this evening. Widely recognized as a talented artist, Barbara Hines contributed six of her silkscreen and acrylic on canvas works for a silent auction, which raised $19,500 that is dedicated to cancer research and patient care at M.D. Anderson.

PC Seen: Judy Ley Allen, Denise Monteleone, Bill King, JoLynn and Gregg Falgout, Regina Rogers, Kathy and John Orton, Bobbie Nau, Kimberly and Brad Schlosser, Ellie Francisco, Lesha and Tom Elsenbrook, George Farish,  Kimberly and Evan Schelee, Susan and Dick Hansen, Richard Skinner, Erika de la Garza, Jim Adler, Ann and Jeff Dykes, and Sis Johnson.