Vermont Business Magazine More than 4,000 cyclists, walkers, rowers, and golfers and 1,200 volunteers gathered in Hanover today for The36th Annual Prouty,northern New England’s largest charity fundraiser. Each year on the second weekend in July people from all over the country join together for this event, fighting cancer while spending the day in an activity that promotes their own health. Despite a lunchtime storm burst, spirits remained highas participantswalked or cycled through neighborhoods and roads in New Hampshire and Vermont, rowed on the Connecticut River, or took to the links at the Hanover Country Club.
This year’s event included the proud introduction of Steven D. Leach, MD, the newly named Director of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Dr. Leach spent his morning cycling the 50-mile route and then interacting with participants, volunteers and the local community at the Prouty event site before being officially introduced by interim Director, Christopher Amos, PhD.
The Prouty offers a variety of activities for athletes of all abilities, including 2-day cycling events, trails suitable for recent cancer survivors and routes for every level in between. This year for the first time, Ultimate participants departed the Dartmouth green and cycled through VT. Prouty staff worked with towns throughout New Hampshire and Vermont to successfully move routes off of roads that were damaged by last week’s storms. Many participants stopped to fasten yellow ribbons to the fence at the finish line, each bearing names and messages to loved ones who were touched by cancer.
Scientific research at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) that has been supported by Prouty funds was highlighted in a “Thank You Tent,” where poster displays described recent discoveries and cancer prevention findings. NCCC researchers were on hand to explain how their work is being translated into clinical practices, each one showing how Prouty dollars are making a difference. On display was “Andrew,” an advanced precision pipetting robot that was purchased with Prouty funds and the Cancer Center’s inflatable colon, which allowed staff to educate attendees on colon cancer and screening options. The Prouty also funds quality-of-life patient services such as massage, writing-for-healing workshops,support groups, and patient libraries. These otherwise unfunded services make a huge difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families.
“It has been an incredible time for The Prouty,” said Jean Brown, event director and executive director of the Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center. “It is a testament to this community and to the people who support The Prouty to see how we all have rallied after the floods and road damage of the last week, including the rain storm today, to make this kind of difference in the fight against cancer!”
About Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Norris Cotton Cancer Center combines advanced cancer research at Dartmouth College and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth with patient-centered cancer care provided at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, at Dartmouth-Hitchcock regional locations in Manchester, Nashua, and Keene, NH, and St. Johnsbury, Vt., and at 14 partner hospitals throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. It is recognized and designated by the National Cancer Institute for its breadth and depth as one of just 48 ComprehensiveCancerCenters in the U.S. Learn more about Norris Cotton Cancer Center research, programs, and clinical trials online atcancer.dartmouth.edu
Hanover, N.H.(July 8, 2017) –Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center