The Michael A. Sheehan Counter-Myeloma Fund's Fundraising Page

Celebrating the essence of his prestigious career, The Michael A. Sheehan Counter-Myeloma Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was established in 2018 by his family and friends to push the envelope towards better outcomes for patients facing multiple myeloma worldwide. The Michael A. Sheehan Counter-Myeloma Fund will support innovative clinical research of new therapies for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow for which there are treatment options, but no cures.

Dana-Farber's Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center exemplifies Dana-Farber's commitment to translating scientific discoveries into new therapies for patients. The Michael A. Sheehan Counter-Myeloma Fund will be managed by Paul Richardson, MD, director of Clinical Research and R.J. Corman professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Gifts to the Michael A. Sheehan Counter-Myeloma Fund will support clinical research in multiple myeloma, and clinical fellows training under the direction of Dr. Richardson. Clinical trials serve as the critical link between laboratory discovery, drug development, and clinical application. Dr. Richardson and his colleagues rely on philanthropy to support innovative early-stage studies and represents a tangible opportunity to help bring improved therapies to myeloma patients and build the pipeline of world-class myeloma physician-scientists.

This gift honors Mike's career and unique spirit, fighting terrorism and cancer, for people around the world.

Mr. Sheehan, who began his career as an Army Ranger, first took part in clandestine operations in Panama in 1979. Later, he was part of drug-interdiction and counterterrorism operations in Colombia, El Salvador and Honduras, scaling buildings and jumping out of helicopters as a "real-life Rambo," in the words of a New York Daily News profile.

He helped investigate the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" incident in Somalia, in which two U.S. helicopters were shot down, killing 18 service members. In 2000, almost a year before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Sheehan raised alarms about Osama bin Laden and the dangers of al-Qaeda. "What's it going to take to get them to hit al-Qaeda?? he reportedly asked at the time. "Does al-Qaeda have to attack the Pentagon?"

After the 9/11 attacks, Mr. Sheehan spent two years as an assistant secretary general of the United Nations, coordinating anti¬terrorism efforts around the world.

In 2003, he joined the New York City police as a deputy commissioner and directed what was widely recognized as one of the country's foremost counter¬terrorism units. He trained thousands of police officers in how to deal with potential threats, from car bombs to nuclear weapons.

"There are few people in the country, let alone the world, that really have his knowledge and understanding of terrorism as a phenomenon and from the diversity of perspective he brought to bear on it," Rand Corp. terrorism authority Bruce Hoffman told the New York Times in 2006. His 2008 book, "Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism Without Terrorizing Ourselves," spelled out his sometimes unorthodox theories of fighting terrorism.

"Having spent the first twenty years of my career as a soldier," he wrote, "the need to be on the front lines was firmly imbedded in my psyche." He believed the most effective way to prevent terrorist cells from attacking the United States and other countries was to stop them from forming in the first place, through diplomacy and what he called a "small-footprint" and low-cost presence in countries that gave rise to militants.

He recommended that U.S. spy services and military forces "drain the swamps" through strategic operations to eliminate training camps for terrorists. "It is important to understand that terrorism is an instrument of the weak," he said in 2008, "and that the terrorist depends on a psychological overreaction to an attack on an innocent civilian target."

Some of Mr. Sheehan's harshest criticism was directed toward Congress and the geyser of cash dumped into the fight against terrorism, much of which did little but line the pockets of contractors. "Since 9/11," he told Harper's Magazine in 2008, "the U.S. Government has spent hundreds of billions on activities I consider a complete waste of time and money, or on activities that have a very marginal impact on our safety." Security checkpoints at airports did little to deter terrorism, he said, and only served to annoy the "white haired grandma" whose life was "turned upside down by overzealous airport inspectors."

Written by Matt Schudel, Washington Post, August 1, 2018

For more information or to make a gift via stock/DAF/mail, please contact:
Elizabeth D. Morgan, Director, Principal and Major Gifts
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Division of Philanthropy & the Jimmy Fund  617-632-4243 or elizabethd_morgan@dfci.harvard.edu