JUNE 25, 2005 | Staff at the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC) donned their hats –and then took them off – in honor of their patients June 10 during Cancer Survivors Day.

From ball caps to motorcycle helmets, the head coverings symbolized the theme, “Hats off to Cancer Survivors.” About 20 staff members participated in the event, which spanned the ACRC from the lobby to the upstairs clinics.

National Cancer Survivors Day® is an annual, worldwide celebration of life that is held in hundreds of communities throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. Participants unite to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be a reality.

“It’s just a great way for us to have fun and make our patients smile,” said Porter Puckett, director of patient information for the ACRC and the event organizer.

Annie Lincoln, program manager at the Myeloma Institute for Research & Therapy, decorated a motorcycle helmet with flags to say, "Hats off to all our patients all over the world."

“Dr. (Bart) Barlogie rides a BMW motorcycle everyday to work, rain or shine, so I thought of a motorcycle helmet. Then I thought of our patients from all over the world, so I bought a book of flags, copied them, cut them out and covered the helmet with the flags representing the countries that they came from. I really enjoyed doing it,” she said.

Cancer survivor Richard Bloch (co-founder of H&R Block) and his wife, Annette, held the first Cancer Survivor Rally in Kansas City, Mo., to demonstrate that a diagnosis of cancer was not an automatic death sentence. The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation defines a "survivor" as anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life.

Links on This Page

Arkansas Cancer Research Center: http://www.acrc.uams.edu/\

Myeloma Institute for Research & Therapy: http://myeloma.uams.edu/

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