Survivors and Socialites Inspire Hope at CanCare’s 30th Luncheon

Daniel Ortiz and Dave Rossman
Survivors and Socialites Inspire Hope at CanCare’s 30th Luncheon

Whitney Lawson, Fady Armanious and Alicia Smith

NEARLY 400 GATHERED at the River Oaks Country Club to raise a glass to cancer survivors, caregivers and supporters — and the hope that everyone deserves to feel throughout their journey with the disease.


CanCare’s 30th annual luncheon, chaired by philanthropist heavyhitters Phoebe and Bobby Tudor with honorary chairs Stephanie and Frank Tsuru, raised an incredible $400,000 for the organization’s mission to match new cancer patients with survivors who can support them. Attendees walked away with a new understanding of the significance that positivity and hope has for cancer survivorship.

A raffle touted Valobra earrings and coveted Diamond Club seats at an Astros game. Winners were drawn at the end of the program, which included an onstage chat between Gina Gaston and MD Anderson physician Peter Pisters. There was also an emotional candle-lighting ceremony, during which guests held up glowing candles in honor of loved ones impacted by cancer.

Those who made donations during the luncheon received a bell to ring — an action which traditionally marks the end of cancer treatment.

Alex Blair and Debbie Pakzaban

Vijay Goradia and Marie Goradia

Amy Pierce and Stephanie Tsuru

Titus Harris and Charlie Epps

Brigitte Kalai and Alex Kalai

Sippi and Ajay Khurana

Cathy Herr, Anne Neeson, Susan Distefano

Rochelle Griffin and Donna Lewis

Natalie Mohtashami, Megan Vondra

Ceron

Darcie Wells, Vijay Goradia and Phoebe Tudor

Michael Wiesenthal and Jared Wiesenthal

Peter Pisters with Phoebe and Bobby Tudor

Michael and Ileana Trevino

Ginger Blanton, Regina Rogers

Kim Trimble, Amanda Horton, Angela Williams

Jordan Seff, Vanessa Ames, Brook Lee

Jim Braniff and Coy Lewis

Parties
‘Embrace Changes,’ Says Valobra, Whose Namesake Jewelry Store Has Become a Houston Institution
How did you get to where you are today? I had little choice in the matter; I grew up being trained to become the fourth-generation jewelry designer behind my great grandfather, grandfather, and father. It was my duty to carry on the family business and continue the hard work and success they built from nothing, beginning in Torino, Italy in 1905. I was surrounded by jewelry and its craftmanship as a young child and was taught the business from a very young age.
Keep Reading Show less

Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

IT’S THAT TIME of year again: Wine Spectator, the world’s leading authority on wine, has unveiled the winners of the 2024 Restaurant Awards, which honor the world’s best restaurants for wine. This year’s awards program recognizes 3,777 dining destinations from all 50 states in the U.S. and more than 75 countries internationally. Houston, the fourth largest city in America, garnered 42 awards.

Keep Reading Show less

A next-gen artificial heart from BiVACOR has successfully been implanted in a patient at Texas Heart Institute. The patient survived more than a week, until a donor heart was found for a transplant.

THE PIONEERING CARDIOVASCULAR inventors and surgeons at The Texas Heart Institute (THI) in the Texas Medical Center have made another huge leap forward in the treatment of heart disease, officially announcing yesterday what they’re calling a “monumental advancement."

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places