Audesse Award

Audesse Award Information/History

In 1993, the Massachusetts Society of Clinical Oncologists established an award to recognize outstanding efforts to educate the public about cancer prevention and to enhance and protect the quality of cancer care in Massachusetts. The award was named in honor of Nancy Achin (Sullivan) Audesse, who as State Senator from Lowell, sponsored the legislation mandating that Massachusetts insurers pay for off-label uses of cancer therapy drugs. Ms. Audesse’s clear and unflagging leadership was crucial in successfully passing Senate Bill 1772, Chapter 404. Senator Audesse’s promotion of the bill secured its passage at a time when the climate for new mandates in health insurance coverage was extremely unwelcome. The bill generated intense interest among many groups, and it is a credit to Senator Audesse’s involvement in the process that the original wording of the bill remained virtually intact. Its passage will beneficially impact the quality of life for cancer patients far into the future.

Today, Nancy Achin Audesse continues to serve the patients of Massachusetts in many ways. She is presently the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine. In addition, she is involved with many non-profit organizations and donates her time and expertise on behalf of cancer patients and their families.

2008 Audesse Award Recipient:

Joanne Raymond, Caitlin Raymond International Registry

http://www.crir.org/

The Caitlin Raymond International Registry (CRIR), a pioneer in the establishment of procedures and practices for stem cell donor search, is the oldest coordinating center for bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cell and placental cord unit search in the United States. Affiliations with more than 90 international registries and cord blood banks in 43 countries enables us to access nearly 7,100,000 donors and more than 230,000 cord blood units.

CRIR is a non profit organization of the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Massachusetts. CRIR was originally established in 1986 as a unit within the Division of Hematology-Oncology of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center specifically as a coordinating center for conducting national and international searches for unrelated donors. Today, approximately 300 patients each month are submitted for search by physicians from all over the world.

CRIR maintains Hub Status in Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide and is a member registry of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and the European Marrow Donor Information System.

CRIR staff participate in the following WMDA working groups: Donor Registry Working Group, Quality Assurance Working Group, Finance Committee, Budget Committee and Ethics Working Group. CRIR staff also participate on the WMDA Board of Directors.

CRIR also operates an unrelated stem cell donor registry, accessible to search coordinating centers worldwide. Able to coordinate volunteer donor registration drives throughout the United States, CRIR works with both private and public recruitment groups to educate potential donors and increase the available donor panel.

Past Audesse Award Recipients:

SHADE Foundation of America

The Melanoma Foundation of New England

Susan Zuker and Conquer Cancer Coalition of Massachusetts

Honorable Robert E. Travaglini

Massachusetts Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Honorable Harriette L. Chandler

Cam Neely Foundation

Robert Mehrman

Edward Madden, author of Carpe Diem: Enjoying Every Day with a Terminal Illness David Mulligan, former Commissioner of the Department of Public Health

Scott Harshbarger, former Massachusetts Attorney General

Aid for Cancer Research

Griffin’s Friends

Brian Bergevin Fund

Marie Curry Fund

Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Collins

Former State Senator Nancy Achin Audesse

If you would like to nominate a person or organization for their excellence and dedication to educate the public about cancer prevention and to enhance and protect the quality of cancer care, please contact MSCO Chapter Administrator, Katja Ruf, at 781-434-7314 or kruf@mms.org.