Walk for Women invites institute president

The 4th annual Walk for Women weekend festivities will start with a Pink Tie Affair Banquet that will feature keynote speaker Dr. Michael Ramsay, president of the Baylor Research Institute.

The banquet is scheduled for Friday at Louie’s Backyard on South Padre Island.

At the Baylor Research Institute, Ramsay and his colleagues have done research on all areas of cancer, much of which has been on breast cancer, he said.

His work and knowledge have made him a “recognized and sought-after lecturer,” and he has given more than 250 invited presentations and lectures throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia and Japan, according to a press release from Walk for Women.

In recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of mortalities from cancer—not necessarily the number of cases of cancer, Ramsay said.

“Part of that are efforts like this” that have shed light on cancer for men and women, Ramsay said.

Ramsay said early detection is the key to finding and providing a treatment, and if people don’t know about the disease, they won’t know what to look for.

“That means education alone has made a tremendous difference in saving lives and improving the quality of lives,” Ramsay said.

Early diagnosis leads to very specific treatments, Ramsay said, which lead to a greater chance of survival.

Modern research and medical advances have led to personalized treatments for each patient, Ramsay said.

“Your cancer is not my cancer,” Ramsay said.

“Even in breast cancer, there are different types of cancers that respond to different types of therapy.”

With just a few drops of blood, medical professionals are now able to find out “what’s really going on with your body,” Ramsay said.

“Within the next five years, I think we’re going to be able to make cancer a chronic disease, not a killing disease,” Ramsay said.

Ramsay said that working for the Baylor Research Institute at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas has allowed some of the world’s top researchers to work towards “human health"-not “mice health” that may take years to have any effect on cancer patients.

That is exciting to the doctor.

“We’re treating humans,” Ramsay said. “I think medicine is just a great specialty to be in right now.”

At the event, a silent and live auction will include the original artwork, by Larry Haines, that was made for this year’s event T-shirts, event president Rennetta Silva said.

The silent auction will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., when Ramsay will begin his speech, Silva said.

The live auction will be held afterward at 9 p.m., she said.

“We are so honored,” Silva said. “It’s just such an honor that he’s agreed to speak at the banquet.”