Dr. Richard Rockefeller - CML - Chronic myeloid leukemia

 

Dr. Richard Rockefeller, who was a practicing family physician and also the great-grandson of the industrialist John D. Rockefeller, was diagnosed with CML in October 2000. His first treatment was with Interferon and after he switched to Gleevec on which he responded very well. He was in complete remission until his death on June 13th, 2014 caused by an airplane crash. He chaired the U.S. Advisory Board of Doctors Without Borders from 1989 until 2010, and served on the board of Rockefeller University until 2006. He helped the CMLers learn about CML by his informative posts in patient group discussion. He supported the Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre at Glasgow’s Gartnavel Hospital. The current director of this research center is Professor Tessa Holyoake whose pioneering lab work focuses on how cancer stem cells can trigger the return of CML.


"He practiced and taught family medicine for fifteen years in Maine before trying his hand at health care reform. In the early 90′s he founded Health Commons Instituted in hopes of improving health care through the development and application of information technologies that inform and empower patients while relieving physicians from the burden of memorization so they can return their attention to the more subtle art and science of healing. The idea was ahead of its time (or something) and HCI was shuttered in 2000 when Dr. Rockefeller himself became ill with leukemia. Since his recovery he has devoted his time to a variety of environmental, community, and health-related non-profit organizations and ventures. The latter includes Doctors Without Borders, and a variety of cancer research initiatives."
Extract of Darfur  Fast for Life ​
"Richard Rockefeller, Ed.M., M.D., practiced and taught medicine in Portland, Maine from 1982 until 2000, and has remained involved in a variety of health-related nonprofit activities since then.  He founded and served as president of Health Commons Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving American medicine through the use of computer-based information tools and informed shared decision making between patients and physicians.  He chaired the U.S. Advisory Board of Doctors Without Borders from 1989 until 2010, and served on the board of Rockefeller University until 2006.
Dr. Rockefeller is founder and former chairman of Hour Exchange Portland, a service credit barter program designed to rebuild trust, reciprocity and civic engagement (Putnam's core ingredients of Social Capital) in Portland and throughout the state of Maine.
He chaired the board of Maine Coast Heritage trust from 2000 until 2006 and is past president of Rockefeller Family Fund. He has two grown children and lives in Falmouth, Maine."
Dr. Rockefeller, a son of David Rockefeller, was first elected to the RBF board in 1989.
Extract of Richard Rockefeller, Rockefeller Brothers Fund ​
"A few years ago, I would be dead by now.
In October 2000 I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare and deadly form of cancer. At that time most patients could anticipate a painful death following several uncomfortable years of decline. The only treatment options were relatively toxic drugs like interferon, and the only hope for a cure was a stem cell transplant - for which just a fraction of patients qualified.
Six months after my diagnosis, however, the Federal Drug Administration approved a drug called Gleevec, which changed everything. The product of years of publicly and privately funded research, this new agent all but eliminated the cancer that was killing me. I may or may not be cured, but shortly after I started treatment, my leukemia was rendered nearly undetectable. I have felt perfectly healthy ever since.
In short, I survive and thrive because of a pill. "
Extract of  A Fatal Imbalance in Medical Treatment
"The Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre has been opened by Dr Richard Rockefeller.
The £3million centre is fitted out with the latest technology and will allow specialists to translate laboratory findings into new treatments for patients. It was built after a fundraising drive by the University of Glasgow, which saw more than £2.5million raised in six years.
Opening the centre, Dr. Rockefeller paid tribute to the staff and said their work is vital.
He said: “The leukaemias are among the harshest of cancers. Much progress has been made to date, but a great deal remains to be done.  I have chosen to support the POGRC because among all the world’s researchers, Dr. Tessa Holyoake and her extraordinary staff stand out as offering the greatest promise of a medical cure for the leukaemia from which I have suffered. ... 
Now the building is open, Leukaemia Research will continue to support the work of Professor Holyoake, whose work is crucial to our understanding of how chronic myeloid leukaemia originates from cancer stem cells."
Extract of Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre opens
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OTHER PUBLICATIONS

La Famille et les Amis de Feu Richard Rockefeller (French)
Richard Rockefeller from Wikipédia                     
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                     See Celebrities with CML  ​

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