LOS ANGELES, Sept. 28, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Los Angeles resident Doron Kochavi, whose son Ari is alive today because of the treatment for a brain tumor he received at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, will join Lance Armstrong and 23 other cyclists who have been touched by cancer on the nine-day Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope(tm) ride across America. Doron Kochavi is among the team of 24 cancer survivors, advocates, caregivers, physicians, and researchers selected to ride from San Diego to Washington, D.C. at the end of the month as members of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope(tm).
The third year of the cross-country journey, this team of avid cyclists, driven by their ties to cancer, will cover 3,300 miles of American landscape in nine days to share their experiences and inspire those they meet along the way to learn more about cancer research. Seven-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, will lead the team from San Diego and into Washington, D.C. for the finale. He will join the team at other points along the route.
Kochavi, who works as a financial consultant at Bear Stearns in Century City, California and lives in Flintridge-La Canada, California, has long been dedicated to the fight against cancer. Both his parents' lives were taken by the disease and his adopted son, Ari, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor in 1989. Ari is now a 20-year-old young adult. Doron Kochavi credits the doctors at the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and the medicine made available through a clinical trial at the hospital, with saving his son Ari's life. The clinical trial Ari participated in 16 years ago was for a drug cocktail composed of Vincristine, CNU, a Bristol-Myers Squibb drug, and Prednisone.
"If not for the clinical trial at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the experimental drug administered through it, my son Ari wouldn't be alive today," said Kochavi. "Being part of the Tour of Hope(tm) team gives me the opportunity to remind others that it is only through continued scientific research and increased participation in clinical trials will there be more successful outcomes for people diagnosed with cancer."
According to Bristol-Myers Squibb, currently only five percent of all adult cancer patients enroll in clinical trials, but 60 percent of all children with cancer enter into clinical trials, leading to a much higher cure rates in pediatric cancer.
"We are absolutely thrilled that Doron is riding in the Tour of Hope(tm)," said Stuart E. Siegel, M.D., head of the division of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. "These men and women (the Tour of Hope(tm) team members) are true heroes."
Dr. Siegel treated Ari as a child and recommended his participation in the clinical trial that saved his life. "The message Doron and the other members of the Tour of Hope(tm) are sending is so important to our continuing fight against cancer," Dr. Siegel said. "The more patients that enroll in clinical trials, the faster new drugs can be approved for use, and the better the quality of life can be for cancer patients everywhere."
Doron Kochavi and the team will begin its journey on Thursday, Sept. 29, in San Diego, following a southern route that concludes in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, October 8. Along the way, the Tour of Hope(tm) team will stop at events hosted by cancer centers and cancer organizations to encourage communities to support research and invite them to be a part of the fight against this disease.
To learn more about Doron Kochavi and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope(tm) and how to get involved, visit www.tourofhope.org.
More about Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tour of Hope(tm)
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope(tm) is supported by the following cancer organizations: CancerCare, Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation, C-Change, the Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups, Lance Armstrong Foundation, the National Cancer Coalition of Cancer Survivorship, and the Oncology Nursing Society.
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope(tm) is supported by the following sponsors who provide in-kind contributions: Dasani, Discovery Communications, Giro, Nike, Oakley, PowerBar, Shimano, Subaru, and Trek.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global pharmaceutical and related health care products company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life.
About Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been treating the most seriously ill and injured children in Los Angeles for more than a century, and it is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Childrens Hospital is one of America's premier teaching hospitals, affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California for more than 73 years. It is a national leader in pediatric research.
Today, physician-scientists at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles address the most vexing pediatric medical problems and discover important new therapies for children everywhere, including advances in cancer care, gene transfer, stem cell and organ transplantation, and diabetes. The Saban Research Institute is among the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States, with 91 investigators at work on 239 laboratory studies, clinical trials, and community-based research and health services. It is one of the few free-standing research centers in the nation to combine scientific laboratory inquiry with patient clinical care -- dedicated exclusively to children -- and its base of knowledge is widely considered to be among the best in pediatric medicine.
The Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases is the nation's largest pediatric hematology/oncology program. Physician-scientists integrate their laboratory experience with their clinical expertise in an approach to medical problem solving that enables them to move effectively from "bench to bedside." Breakthroughs in the treatment of childhood cancer, many pioneered at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, offer children, teenagers, and young adults the most advanced treatment available anywhere.
The University of Southern California and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles have established the USC-CHLA Institute for Pediatric Clinical Research (IPCR) at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to conduct research on pediatric illness and disease, with a particular emphasis on clinical trials. The IPCR is designed to find the best means to diagnose, treat and prevent pediatric disease and to promote child and adolescent health. Dr. Siegel is professor and vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and associate director of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"Finding and understanding the mechanisms of childhood diseases like cancer is the key to early prevention and treatment of adult diseases," said Dr. Siegel. "This institute has enormous potential to enhance the well-being of children, as well as significantly contribute to adult medicine."
The initial research focus of the IPCR is on childhood leukemia, building on the work of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, considered one of the most active and productive investigative groups in the world in moving new therapies from the laboratory in to clinical trials for children with cancer.