January 7, 2010 - M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and Local Supporters to Provide Smoking Prevention Message to 7,200 Middle School Students January 8
American Bank Center donates arena for event; local sports teams donate tickets
At a time of the year when many people are making New Year’s resolutions to stop smoking, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and local supporters are helping Corpus Christi-area students learn about the dangers of beginning to smoke in the first place.
Local supporters Glenda and Jerry Kane, Annette and Melvyn Klein, Mike McKinnon, Peggy and Avinash Ahuju, and Gloria and Ed Hicks have teamed up with The American Bank Center, Frost Bank, Stripes, L&F; Distributors and CC Distributors to host a fun and interactive smoking prevention event on Jan. 8 for teens.
American Bank Center has donated the arena at 1901 N. Shoreline Blvd., which seats 7,200, for the event with the others contributing funds to provide transportation for all students, as well as staffing at the arena.
The event begins at 9:30 a.m. with a skating performance by the Corpus Christi Ice Rays hockey team. At 10:30 a.m., Alexander V. Prokhorov, M.D., Ph.D., professor of behavioral science and director of the Tobacco Outreach Education Program and Mary Fitzgerald, research manager of behavioral science, will present an interactive program they’ve designed to stress the importance of smoking prevention or cessation to a young audience. The program uses several multimedia pieces, including interactive exercises, videos and animation. Students will learn interesting facts such as the surprising variety of chemicals in cigarette smoke. Prokhorov’s work focuses especially on creating and testing innovative tobacco prevention and cessation programs for high-risk teens and young adults. His interactive multimedia Web site ASPIRE (A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience) has reached thousands of young users in Texas, nationally and internationally.
The Corpus Christi Ice Rays and the Corpus Christi Hooks baseball team are donating free tickets for any hockey game and a baseball game to all students who attend. The Islanders basketball team, Texas A&M; Corpus Christi, will honor the students at an upcoming basketball game (date to be decided), providing them free tickets as well. Stripes will be providing Slush Monkey coupons to students attending the presentation.
More than 5,600 7th and 8th grade students from the Corpus Christi Independent School District will attend the event, as well as 900 from Flour Bluff – the entire middle school. Approximately 600 middle school students from Calallen Independent School District also will attend.
Prokhorov develops programs aimed at increasing awareness of the tobacco risks among the general public and enhancing smoking cessation counseling skills among health care providers in Texas and beyond. He serves as the chair of the Tobacco Special Interest Group of the American Society for Preventative Oncology and is a member of the Julius Richmond Center of Excellence with the mission to protect children from exposure to secondhand smoke.
About M. D. Anderson:
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson is one of only 40 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For six of the past eight years, M. D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. |
