Sara's Fund: Immunotherapy for NET's Fundraising Page

SARA CONOVER BUTTURINI  

December 14, 1957 - November 13, 2020

We are heartbroken to have to post that our sweet Sara passed peacefully at home on November 13, 2020.    She taught us all how to fight a devastating disease with grace and bravery.   As a dear friend wrote:   "A beloved, bright, dancing star in God's loving arms, and our Selves so lucky to have been touched by her light!"    

Her family extends profound thanks to Sara's Dana Farber Cancer Center team, as well as the Mass General Cancer Care Center at Emerson Hospital, for their superb compassionate care for Sara.  She trusted her team implicitly, feeling incredibly supported every step of the way.   

Grateful thanks, too, to Sara's many devoted friends and extended family who have supported her through this journey, including through this fund.   Her heart overflowed with love for you all.     

Sara is resting at peace.   Dana Farber's work continues, greatly inspired by Sara's generous, optimistic spirit.

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Posted April 2017

My name is Laurie (pictured on left), but my sister, Sara (on right), calls me"Lahdee". I call her "Sahdah". Neither of us remembers why, or which came first. Anyway, she is a bright light in our family, so taking in the news of her cancer diagnosis of Neuroendocrine Tumor (NET) has been difficult for us, and nearly impossible to believe. We all love our Sahdah, and you would too, if you met her!

One of Sara's notable and endearing attributes is her positive energy - it radiates to touch everyone she comes into contact with. That is the inspiration for this Fund - we would like to draw from Sara's positive energy and apply it to the amazing work of Dana's NET research team, now led by Dr. Jennifer Chan (photo, center).

Dr. Chan, MD, MPH, is the Clinical Director of the Program in Neuroendocrine and Carcinoid Tumors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an Assistant Professorof Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is an international leader in theinvestigation of novel therapies for NETs and has facilitated multiple clinical trials resulting in the FDA approval of new therapies for NETs.
 
As you may know, immunotherapy is a recent revolution in cancer treatment which harnesses the power of the human immune system to attack cancer. Because immunotherapies have not yet proven effective in treating NETs, Dr. Chan and her team will be focusing on identifying breakthrough immunotherapies for NETs. She will be partnering with Matthew Kulke, MD, MMSc, at Boston Medical Center (and former director of NET research at Dana-Farber) to leverage single-cell sequencing technology which is readily available in BMC's laboratories. This model will expedite the pace of discovery in the most cost and time-efficient manner

To which we say, "It sounds incredibly exciting, with achievable advances along the path. Let's do it!"

Just think of it -- the first laboratory study of its kind to bring immunotherapies to NET patients! EVERY DOLLAR will help, so please join us. Thankyou!

Lahdee & Sahdah

Thank you for visiting our Giving Page to support cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.