The Galen Foundation Board of Directors

The board of directors is the governing body of a nonprofit. Individuals who sit on the board are responsible for overseeing the Galen Foundation’s activities.

The Galen Foundation DBA PeopleBeatingCancer was launched in June of 2004. My vision was to create a free online resource for newly diagnosed cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers in order to demystify cancer, mind, body, and soul.

After the first years struggling with my own cancer I realized that while conventional oncology is central to managing cancer, they are limited to prescribing FDA approved therapies.

Living with cancer is about much more than surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

The Galen Board of Directors is essential to the operations of the foundation.

Galen Foundation Board of Directors:

Charlie Lougheed- Board Chair

  • CEO at Axuall, Inc.

Trevion Taylor- Treasurer

  • PricewaterhouseCoopers

Dr. Gary Whitman- Medical Chair

  • Professor of Radiology with Tenure and Radiologist, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Brad Withers- Director

Erik Ovesny- Director

Michael Thompson- Director

  • Cancer Survivor

Staff:

  • David Emerson, Director-Galen Foundation
  • Jessica Grogan Burnett, Assistant Director-Galen Foundation

A Nonprofit Board of Directors – What is a Board? 

“The board of directors is the governing body of a nonprofit. Individuals who sit on the board are responsible for overseeing the organization’s activities. Board members meet periodically to discuss and vote on the affairs of the organization. At a minimum, an annual meeting must occur with all board members present. Additional meetings are likely to take place throughout the year so board members can discuss and make other necessary decisions. The board of directors, as a governing body, should focus on the organization’s mission, strategy, and goals. Staff members are responsible for the implementation of the mission. Having dual-capacity board members can often lead to problems (which will be discussed in detail in our next article) between a nonprofit’s mission and how it operates….”


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Beliefs
PeopleBeatingCancer believes that individuals who manage their health live longer, better lives. A cancer diagnosis is frightening, depressing and often overwhelming. There are medical terms we don’t understand and treatments we have never heard of. While conventional oncology is important, both traditional and non-traditional therapies must be considered and the many possible decisions surrounding a diagnosis ultimately rest with the individual.
PeopleBeatingCancer believes that learning from the experiences of others helps people live longer, better lives. Networking is a human instinct. When we need advice, we ask someone with experience. The information we provide is largely experience-based. We are a network, not a textbook.

PeopleBeatingCancer believes that awareness of a full spectrum of approaches to confronting cancer will help people live longer, better lives. We welcome open discussion about any cancer-fighting strategy because we believe everyone has a right to make their own decisions about their health.

We believe that the profit motive can be detrimental to successful disease management. Galen, the ancient Greek physician after whom our organization is named, believed that the profit motive is incompatible with true healing. Unlike many other organizations devoted to health, the Galen Foundation is not funded by pharmaceutical corporations.
History
The Galen Foundation DBA PeopleBeatingCancer was founded by David Emerson, a cancer survivor from Cleveland, Ohio. In 1994 David was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow.
After surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and a peripheral blood stem cell transplant, the myeloma returned. David’s oncologist told him that nothing more could be done. That was in September of 1997.
Confused and angered by the limitations of conventional oncology, David defied statistical odds by finding and using other therapies to survive. He sought out the Burzynski Research Institute in Houston, Texas where he underwent antineoplaston therapy. Seventeen months later his lesions disappeared and since April of 1999, David has been cancer free.
David learned from his experience and although he knows that the specific therapy he chose will not work for everyone, he believes strongly that people facing cancer have a right to information about a full spectrum of approaches to confronting cancer. The information about multiple myeloma David found on the internet helped to save his life, and he is passionate about helping others succeed in their battles against cancers of all kinds.