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St. Jude Program features Korean Choir

By Christine Anne Piesyk | November 1, 2006 |

“No child will be turned away for an inability to pay.That’s been the motto of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital since its inception.

On Sunday, November 12, from 3-4 P.M., a representative of St. Jude’s Childre’s Hospital will speak about the hospital’s commitment to treatment and research of childhood cancers. The program, which is open to the public, will include music and songs performed by the First Presbyterian Church Korean Choir.

St. Jude Hospital was founded by actor Danny Thomas in 1962, and is recognized as one of the world’s finest medical facilities. Doctors and researchers at St. Jude’s specialize in treating catastrophic diseases in children, with a focus on pediatric leukemia, tumors, and all forms of cancer. Their research includes work on bone marrow transplants, gene therapy, chemotherapy, viruses, hereditary and infectious diseases and more. Their discoveries have changed the way the world treats children afflicted with cancer.

All children accepted for treatment at St. Jude’s are cared for regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tennessee, sees nearly 5,000 patients annually, with most treated as outpatients; there are approximately 60 beds for patients requiring hospitalization during treatment. Patients come from all 50 states, and more than 70 countries.

Patients at St. Jude are accepted by physician referral when the childor adolescent is newly diagnosed or has a disease under research and treatment by the St. Jude staff. St. Jude is supported primarily by funds from volunteer contributions, and assistance from federal grants, insurance and investments. St. Jude Doctor Peter Doherty, specializing in immunology, was awarded the Nobel prize for medicine in 1996.

About Christine Anne Piesyk

With 40 years behind me (Huh? What? How did that happen?) as a journalist, feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, and film/theater/arts critic, I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago. having completed a midlife undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts. I am currently an MFA student at Goddard College. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and an issue-specific commission for the City of Northampton, MA, and did minor undergraduate work in studies in urban planning and community development. I am a community volunteer and a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, classical music junkie; I also and design and make sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I have an unquenchable interest in just about everything. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure, with the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007 to the author.

Email: womanspeak@yahoo.com