Actress Meredith Baxter donated research money Saturday to the University’s Cancer Center as part of her ongoing commitment to the fight against breast cancer.
She presented a $10,000 check to Rosemary Gruber, the center’s director of development, in a ceremony held at the Radisson Hotel South in Bloomington, Minn.
Baxter is best know for her role as Elise Keaton in the television series “Family Ties.”
Baxter visited the cancer center Friday and met with University professors and top researchers Douglas Yee and Tucker LeBien.
“(The University’s Cancer Center) is the kind of place where the best work is going to be done,” Baxter said. “We wanted to make an endowment where the money was going to be put to the best use, and it seemed like the proper choice.”
The American Cancer Society estimates more than 180,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States in 2000. More than 40,000 women will die from the disease.
Breast cancer is the second-leading cancer-related cause of death among women.
“Every woman is at risk for breast cancer no matter what her age, her health or her family history,” Baxter said.
Baxter produced “My Breast,” a comedy about the true story of journalist Joyce Walder’s successful battle with breast cancer, for which the actress received a special award for public awareness from the National Breast Center Coalition.
“My long-term goal is to make early detection possible everywhere,” Baxter said.
Baxter was in Minnesota to promote her skin-care product line. A portion of the profits go to the Meredith Baxter Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, which supports the University’s efforts to fight the disease.
The University’s Cancer Center has more than 350 researchers and focuses on advancing knowledge about different forms of cancer.
“We have people who are working together across disciplines to really work very diligently at finding cures, nutrients and new therapies for cancer,” Gruber said. “(The donation) will significantly move our program forward.”
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