STOP CANCER To Host 28th Anniversary Gala

Event honors Dr. Richard Merkin and Joan & William Feldman

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Jun 21, 2016, 08:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- STOP CANCER will host its 28^th anniversary gala on Friday, June 24, 2016, at VIBIANA in downtown Los Angeles. The evening's festivities will be hosted by Jason Kennedy, E News Host as Master of Ceremonies.

STOP CANCER is proud to be honoring Dr. Richard Merkin with the Dr. Armand Hammer Philanthropy Award and Joan and Bill Feldman with the STOP CANCER Award of Distinction.

Joan and Bill Feldman honored with the STOP CANCER Award of Distinction

Dr. Richard Merkin honored with the Dr. Armand Hammer Philanthropy Award

"STOP CANCER salutes our 2016 Honorees for their selfless commitment to making our world one without the scourge of cancer. Proceeds help run innovative cancer research leading to new therapies that are saving lives."

The Dr. Armand Hammer Philanthropy Award was established in honor of the founder of STOP CANCER on the occasion of the organization's 25th Anniversary. Dr. Hammer was an internationally-noted philanthropist and this Award serves to recognize individuals who, by their philanthropy and caring, make a difference in our communities and beyond.

"I'm deeply honored to receive the Dr. Armand Hammer Philanthropy Award," said Dr. Richard Merkin, CEO and Founder of the Heritage Group. "STOP CANCER is at the forefront of transforming cancer research so that it can be a more treatable disease, adding both to the quality of life and the years between diagnosis and finding a cure. What attracted me to STOP CANCER is the remarkable relationship with three outstanding cancer centers, Norris at USC Keck, UCLA and City of Hope. For every dollar STOP CANCER donates, these institutions will match in kind, this is a huge accomplishment."

Richard Merkin is the CEO and founder of the Heritage Group. Under his stewardship, the Heritage Group has become the largest, physician-owned and operated integrated delivery system in the United States with over 50 related healthcare companies. The Heritage Group encompasses numerous patent, venture capital, private equity, and insurance companies.

Dr. Merkin serves on the Board of the California Institute of Technology and the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He is the Co-founder of Fastercures. He has established the Richard Merkin Foundation for stem cell Research at the Broad Institute at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Richard Merkin Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Brain Sciences Institute, the Richard Merkin Foundation for Neural Regeneration at UCLA, and the Merkin Family Foundation Fund for Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. He is on the board of the California Nano Systems Institute and serves on many other boards that focus on science, healthcare and finance.

Inspired by the X-Prize Foundation, Dr. Merkin launched the Heritage Health Prize, a $3 million global incentivized competition seeking to achieve a fundamental breakthrough in our ability to predict future hospitalization. Dr. Merkin supports the Merkin initiative to study payment and clinician reform at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC.

In furtherance of HPN's philanthropic efforts and intense focus on improving patient outcomes, Dr. Merkin founded the Heritage Medical Research Institute in 2002. The Institute conducts medical research emphasizing health-care quality and outcomes, as well as core medical research in areas such as stem cell applications in neurodegenerative diseases, cancer immunotherapy, and gene editing tools. The Institute has pursued its mission in partnership with many organizations, including the Broad Institute at Harvard / MIT, the Brookings Institute, and Caltech.

The STOP CANCER Award of Distinction honors those members whose extraordinary support, devotion and contributions to the organization over the years have been an inspiration and example in the quest to end cancer.

"We are very honored to receive this prestigious award as we believe so deeply in STOP CANCER's mission of funding research and finding cures," said Joan and Bill Feldman.

Both natives to California, Bill and Joan first met while she was at UCLA and where he had graduated earlier. Thirty-five years later they reconnected, and have enjoyed a fulfilling 25 years together, along with their blended families, of 7 children, their spouses and 11 grandchildren.

The Feldman's have demonstrated their shared passion for making a difference by their many commitments to philanthropic causes, most notably their dedicated support of STOP CANCER over the last 22 years.

With no cancer in either family, little did they know that their involvement in raising money and awareness to fund early research for all forms of cancer would hit so close to home. First Bill's youngest daughter, contracted breast cancer and in 2012, Joan was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Now Joan and Bill's determination to find a cure has become a personal passion for them and their family. Together they have formed "Team Joanie" and have given a seed grant to fund research on the early detection of ovarian cancer.

Joan remains cancer-free, Bill's youngest daughter is doing fine, and they hope that her family's contributions will enable researchers to help those afflicted live long and productive lives…and that generations to come will have cancer-free future.

For additional information on tickets and sponsorship click http://STCANCER16.gesture.com

About STOP CANCER

STOP CANCER is committed to funding the most promising and innovative scientists in their early research of all forms of cancer prevention, treatment, cures and subsequent clinical applications. STOP CANCER works primarily with local National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and other qualified institutions in the United States to carry out its mission.

ABOUT HPN:
Heritage Provider Network, Inc. (HPN) is on the cutting edge of the accountable care model of healthcare delivery: coordinated, patient-doctor centric, integrated health care systems that represent the future of health care in the United States. HPN and its affiliates operate in California, Arizona and New York providing high quality, cost effective healthcare to close to one million individuals and are dedicated to quality, affordable health care, and putting patients' wellness first. (www.heritageprovidernetwork.com)

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SOURCE Heritage Provider Network, Inc.