Welcome back. Can you believe
it’s been 40 years since Doctor
Paul Gurson started? What has
been a godsend for so many
children and families with
children fighting cancer
started as a way to provide
a week of normalcy to children
who had not been able to
experience normal childhood
things for sometime that simple
ideas, floors now for 40 years
and one that’s worth
celebrating every day. Every
year, it’s still able to
provide respite. It’s
particularly exciting to
celebrate this year, 40 years
at the poker son is here this
morning along with that said
that the Perry Winkle
Foundation executive Director.
Good morning to both of you.
Good to see you. I’m glad to
be here. What you what a great
legacy this has been. Take me
back 40 years ago, a little bit
before 40 years ago that
motivated you to say we need
to have this.
Yes, the motivation comes from
actually from my time as a
resident in radiology at MD
Anderson just gotten out of the
Air Force in 1968.
>> And I went in the Anderson
in order to train in radiology.
That took me up to the
children’s for multiple
multiple times in 1968, to 1972
and I was there. Those were
tough years and pediatric
oncology. There were very, very
few successes and the treatment
of cancer in children that
those years for perspective,
the most common malignancy in
children is leukemia and
lymphoma. And in those days
there was about a 5% survival
rate. So I would go up to that
floor. And I had 3 small sons
of my own and I could usually
last about 15 minutes before I
would go to the phone and call
my wife and find out how our
children were. And the thing
that kept coming into my mind
was we have to do better than
this. I know that we can’t cure
cancer at this time, but we
don’t have to have bear in
hallways and we don’t have to
have no amenities for the
families who are here suffering
and that stayed with me and
stayed with me.
With the left in the Andersen
dive became the neuro
radiologist at Texas Children’s
Hospital. And things were
pretty much the same.
And as time wore on my sense
that we needed to do more for
these children, then just
diagnosis and treatment just
built and built into one day
in 1982, my mother called me
and said that she had just read
an article in the Houston Post
and it was about a camp for
children with cancer in New
York that have been since
sponsored and provided by Paul
Newman a ha moment. And I went
directly to doctor from Buck
who was the head of the
Children’s Cancer Center or at
that time. And I said doctor
from about they have a camp for
children with cancer in New
York and we need to do that,
too. Furthermore, I believe
that anything they’ve done
there, we can do better.
>> And now, 40 years later, we
have Camp Perry which the rise
the name came from. Well, they
they Perry Winkle name was
given to me by a secretary and
the children and the radiology
department whose daughter died
of leukemia.
And it comes from the Perry
Winkle plant from which was
derived to the first reasonably
effective cancer treatment for
children with Kent with
leukemia. interesting way.
Many of our best drugs have
come from plants, aspirin,
digit, Alice and so forth.
But eventually the product that
he derived from the Perry
Winkle plant became a drug
called been Kristen, which is
still in use today. Well, it’s
amazing how that evolved to
now become such a big part of
some of the cures that talk to
me about what this can provide
and how the foundation’s
involved in making sure that
continues. You know, this, this
provides life for these kids
and give them a chance to get
out of the hospital or get out
of their house, which a lot
been isolated for a number of
reasons. And
>> and just be is Doctor
Kirsten up, talked about before
the they see their doctors in
a different light. Now under
the doctor, see the kids, as
he says, children under.
That’s where the magic happens
under one thing I’ve always
admired and really enjoyed
seeing is the stories about
when the kids go to camp and
I see the interaction and how
much they I love being there
and being with each other.
But the magic happens when they
get back to the hospital.
A lot of the doctors optimism
and their outlook on life and
so forth. And it just it’s a
it’s a key part of the
treatment process. So some of
their doctors come to the camp
as to hang out with them to be
able to see them do the kind
of activities. We’re seeing
this video.
>> That’s correct. There’s a
number doctors, and dryers or
medical director from Texas
Children’s Cancer or Hematology
Cener and the number of amazing
staff members and tch that come
out and are part of the camp
and facilitate the medical side
of what needs to be done.
These kids get chemo there and
so forth. It’s they get to get
to be kids.
So 40 years, anything special
for you this year as opposed to
the previous 39, what are you
doing differently?
Nothing. I want to do
everything I’ve always done
of. Never missed a camp in 40
years and I want to make sure
I’m there this year.
>> I want to be there. I want
to tell jokes of the children.
I want to hear them tell jokes
back to me at that point.
I want to lay off my jokes.
Are the But the fact of the
matter is that being at camp
for the children for me and
for all of the staff. It’s a
life changing experience.
And it happens every single
time. How can people see get
involved with a camper with
the foundation? Yeah, they can
go to the pair will foundation
website Perry Winkle Foundation
Dot Org. We’ve got numerous
ways to volunteer. We’ve got
amazing events that come
>> Help raise funds for these
kids to all of our programs
camps. Art survivor programs
are all free of charge and are
a previous board president said
it best. These kids have
already paid a pretty steep
price for admission. So our job
is to make sure that they are
there free of charge and have
everything you need for the
week. Whether there can say it
any better than that. That’s a
good doctor. Gerson, thank you
so much for what you both are
doing to make sure that our
children can find some sort
of normalcy. And he’s very
trying times and all of us.
Thank you for having me here.