Patient's $1 Million Gift Supports Cancer Research

After John Balderacchi died in January 2007, his son, Arthur Balderacchi began efforts to fulfill his father's wishes to use part of his estate to fund cancer research at Duke.

“My dad was treated for prostate cancer at Duke and received excellent care from Dr. Mitch Anscher and Dr. David Paulson (now retired),” said Balderacchi, a Duke University alumnus. “Dad lived until he was 93, and I consider that a great success, thanks to Duke.”

Balderacchi met with several cancer researchers at Duke to learn more about their work. An art professor at the University of New Hampshire for 37 years, he was very familiar with the challenges associated with collaboration within a large academic setting. “I could see that Duke is different; the collaborative environment is wonderful. Researchers are working with their colleagues in other departments as well as with colleagues from around the world. That's how research should be conducted, but often isn't.”

Half of the $1 million Balderacchi estate gift will support the research of Neil Spector, MD, director of translational research in oncology at Duke. Spector is one of the lead developers of Tykerb, a new breast cancer drug recently approved by the FDA for HER2 metastatic breast cancer patients.

Spector has focused much of his research in breast cancer and has a particular interest in fighting inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). In addition to its success for HER2 metastatic patients, Spector believes Tykerb may be effective for IBC , a rare but aggressive cancer that is more prevalent among residents along the Mediterranean basin and among Native Americans and African Americans. Often not diagnosed until it has metastasized, the survival rate for patients with IBC is much lower than that of patients with other cancers of the breast.

“I want to form working groups of top IBC investigators from around the world so we can work together conducting research to find a cure for this devastating disease,” said Spector. “The initial focus of our research will be breast cancer, but we will focus on applications for other tumors as well.”

The other half of the gift will provide support to an international scholar who will conduct research at Duke.

“This generous gift is especially important as Duke forms more partnerships with researchers around the world,” said H. Kim Lyerly, MD, director of the DCCC.

Karen Cochran, executive director of development for the DCCC, expressed gratitude for “this wonderful legacy gift. We are very grateful to the Balderacchi family and others like them, who provide essential support for cutting-edge research and excellent patient care at Duke Medicine.”

Balderacchi hopes that in addition to helping fight cancer, the worldwide partnerships will lead to cooperation and understanding among various cultures.