$2 Million Gift from El Dorado Couple to Benefit UAMS Breast Cancer Research

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – William R. “Bill” and Cacilia Howard of El Dorado have established a $2 million charitable remainder trust to benefit the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). The trust is designated to benefit breast cancer research.


 


“Cancer has touched our family, as it has so many other families,” Bill Howard said. “We hope that this gift will assist the scientists who work each day to find better treatments and hopefully someday a cure for breast cancer.”


 


A World War II veteran, Bill Howard served under General George S. Patton. While in the military, he met his future wife, Cacilia, who returned to Arkansas with him after the war.


 


Bill Howard is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, and Cacilia Howard is a former employee of the Fayetteville campus. Both also were employed by Lion Oil Co., which was later bought by Tosco Corp. Bill Howard retired as assistant controller from Tosco Corp. The last several years of Cacilia Howard’s employment was with Col. Thomas H. Barton, founder of Lion Oil Co. and The Barton Enterprises.


 


“We are honored that the Howards have chosen to designate such a generous donation to the breast cancer research program at UAMS,” said Peter Emanuel, M.D., executive director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. “Great strides have been made in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, but we still have a long way to go. Generosity such as the Howards will make it possible for us to advance the research of Dr. Suzanne Klimberg and the scientists on her team in the UAMS breast cancer program.”


 


Klimberg is chief of the Division of Breast Surgical Oncology at UAMS and a professor in the Departments of Surgery and Pathology. She also is director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Cancer Institute as well as director of Breast Fellowship in Diseases of the Breast at UAMS.


 


“By establishing this trust, the Howards have made a difference in the lives of countless women affected by breast cancer,” Klimberg said. “Our research will benefit from their generous gift for years to come.”


 


Klimberg is the principal investigator of a multiphase clinical trial for the new procedure radiofrequency ablation (eRFA), designed to reduce or eliminate the need for follow-up surgery, reduce recurrence of breast cancer at the original site, and even reduce the need for radiation treatment.  


 


Nationwide, about 40 percent of breast cancer patients require a second surgery to remove additional malignant tissue. Results of the study from UAMS found that 91 percent of breast cancer patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery followed by eRFA did not require a second surgery to remove additional malignant tissue. UAMS is the first hospital to use the procedure to treat breast cancer.


 


Klimberg also pioneered a new technique named axillary reverse mapping (ARM) that is proven to eliminate the lymphedema, or arm swelling, seen with sentinel lymph node surgery or axillary lymph node dissection in breast cancer.


 


In addition to the UAMS gift, in 2005 the Howards established a charitable remainder trust of $1.5 million to the Sam M. Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas that was matched by $1.5 million by the university’s matching gift program.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,538 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,600 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. For more information, visit www.uams.edu.