On Tuesday, the sixth annual Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund Dinner was held at Ponzio’s. Take a look back at how the fund and dinner got started, and how much money the event has raised since its inception.
On Tuesday, the sixth annual Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund Dinner was held at Ponzio’s diner in Cherry Hill. The annual event serves as a fundraiser for the Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund. Money from the fund goes toward lung cancer research at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.
In 2011, the Cherry Hill Sun was on hand for the inaugural Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Dinner. The event took place a little more than four years after the death of Jim Fifis, long-time owner of Ponzio’s.
Fifis was a lifelong smoker who was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003. Fifis opted for surgery and chemotherapy upon his original diagnosis. The cancer returned in 2006 and Fifis later died on Aug. 27, 2007, at the age of 68.
A week before Jim Fifis died, he asked his wife, Violetta and three sons, Chris, Nick and John to raise money to find a cure for lung cancer and to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking.
Chris Fifis would later approach Susan Bass Levin, president and CEO of the Cooper Foundation of Cooper University Hospital, to come up with a way to raise money. What resulted was the Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund at Cooper.
“He knew it was important to his family,” Bass Levin said in the Sun’s 2011 story. “I was happy to do it and everyone at Cooper has jumped on board.”
The annual event includes dinner, dessert, a silent auction and more. Cooper cookies and cupcakes are also sold at the event. All of the money raised at the event and from the cookies goes to the Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund.
At the time of the first dinner, more than $80,000 had already been raised for the fund. That number has increased greatly over the last five years. At the 2016 dinner alone, about $150,000 was raised for the fund. Since its founding, about $650,000 has been raised for the Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund.
“The Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund helps support the top-notch lung cancer care we provide at MD Anderson Cooper,” said Generosa Grana, director of MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. “From new advanced screening technology for early detection to minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment tools and access to clinical trials, we provide patients with comprehensive lung cancer care, right here locally.”
The Jim Fifis Lung Cancer Research Fund provides support to lung cancer clinical research programs, the high-risk lung cancer screening program and the utilization of several innovative diagnostic tools for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer, including endobronchial ultrasound.
