MONTREAL — Dr. Martin Black, left, director of the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) Head and Neck oncology program, had no qualms about saying yes when approached to be the honoree at this year’s May 12 fundraiser.
“He was not reluctant. In fact, he’s excited about it,” said Judi Peters-Levine, who has worked in the oncology department for 15 years and is again handling the publicity for the evening.
This year’s event, she noted, the department’s 16th, will be different in several respects.
First, it is being moved to the downtown Centre Mont-Royal, away from the Montreal Science Centre at the Old Port, its location for the last four years.
Second, in order to have more time for the live auction and raffle, Black’s colleagues and event co-chairs Drs. Saul Frenkiel, Richard Payne and Michael Hier, along with the organizing committee, opted not to invite a major show business personality (last year, it was Patsy Gallant).
Most importantly, in addition to raising funds for research and education at the JGH and other McGill teaching hospitals, an announcement will be made about the establishment of a $1.5-million endowment fund in Black’s name.
The fund will be used to train doctors and surgeons and support investigators working in head and neck oncology, and is described as the first such endowment fellowship in Quebec.
“Dr. Black is very excited about it because he knows it’s so important to have these funds and to get the endowment going,” Peters-Levine said.
Black’s selection as honoree is in keeping with his reputation as a pioneer in the field of head and neck surgery and oncology.
According to McGill University’s department of otolaryngology, Black has been instrumental in developing the world-class centre, which is recognized internationally for its achievements. It’s on the ninth floor of the JGH’s Segal Cancer Centre.
Black has worked at “the Jewish” for almost 37 years. He set up the head and neck unit soon after arriving, training doctors and putting together an interdisciplinary team that, according to the hospital’s website, includes surgeons, radiation therapists, medical oncologists, endocrinologists, speech therapists, dietitians and others.
“We never close,” Peters-Levine noted. “There is someone always on call to help the patients… Our department is ‘hands-on’ for every patient.”
In 2008, Black also received the prestigious Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s regional advisory committee (RAC) Prix d’excellence for Quebec.
Peters said the committee hopes to outdo last year’s event, which drew about 400 people and raised more than $500,000, including through the sale of a special program book.
According to the JGH, head and neck cancers are the sixth most common type among Canadian men, but less so among women, with survival rates having changed very little over the last few decades, despite new medical treatments.
The majority of such cancers, but not all (such as in the thyroid and salivary glands) are linked to tobacco use and can be very disfiguring, especially if treatment involves excising cancers from parts of the face.
For more information on the evening, call Carole Goldberg at 514-340-8222, ext. 5024, or e-mail her at, [email protected].
