Carney Duntsch of Memphis, Tennessee contacted the Hirshberg Foundation a few months ago via email. She energetically wrote us about her father, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May of 1999, and is living with the disease. Robert Skinner is a 53-year-old avid climber and whitewater canoe buff. One week he was climbing mountains, and the next he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Finding out how deadly this cancer is was a devastating blow to Carney and her family. Yet, she knew she couldn’t just sit around—she had to do something.
Carney explains, “I have watched my father undergo radical surgery, high dose chemotherapy, and radiation. Less than one year after his diagnosis, he has beaten the odds and is still alive, but his fight is not over. Watching him suffer through this has pushed me to organize a fundraising effort.”
This effort is called “Family Ties.” Carney is inviting celebrities, via a mail campaign, to donate a tie: necktie, bow tie, scarf, string bikini, anything that ties. These items will then be auctioned on Ebay, with all proceeds going to the Ronald S Hirshberg Pancreatic Cancer Research Center. Carney is excited about the prospects. “My hope is that other family members of pancreatic cancer victims will become aware of this effort, and take part in “Family Ties” in a nationwide fundraising campaign.” Donald Trump was the first to donate an item, a necktie, to the effort. Ted Turner has also contributed.
Carney is hoping to receive all items by July 16, 2000, her father’s 54th birthday, but she needs all the assistance she can get.