health

Wine & Dine

Fundraiser to benefi t
multiple myeloma research.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Marvin & Betty Danto
Health Care Center
6800 West Maple Road
West Bloomfield, MI 48322
248.788.5300

IChoseHeartland.com

46

September 27 • 2018

jn

W

hen Sidney Moss was
diagnosed with mul-
tiple myeloma in 2009,
the medical outlook was not very
good. Treatments were limited at
that time for this incurable blood
cancer that affects plasma cells.
But he underwent a stem cell
transplant, followed by drug treat-
ment, that has kept him in remis-
sion and healthy. He credits his
physician, Jeffrey Margolis, M.D.,
with helping him by recommend-
ing a specific treatment.
“I’ve been very lucky,” says Moss,
76, a Bloomfield Township resi-
dent whose business is self-storage
facilities and manufactured home
communities. “I’m the kind of
person who wants to be involved.
There were limited drugs and
resources for patients,” he says,
adding he wanted to help others.
So, Moss decided to organize a
fundraiser for multiple myeloma
research featuring things that
he enjoys — “good food, good
wine and jazz.” The eighth Wine
and Dine in D will be held on
Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Westin
Book Cadillac in Detroit with 400
guests expected. All the food and
beverages are donated. A physi-
cian panel will begin the event
with a discussion about new treat-
ments for multiple myeloma.
Approximately 25,000 Americans
are diagnosed with multiple
myeloma annually. This blood can-
cer affects plasma cells that accu-
mulate in bone marrow, crowding
out the normal cells that fight
infection and creating an abnor-
mal antibody that can cause life-
threatening problems. While not
curable, it is considered “highly
manageable” today with treat-
ments including immunotherapy,
radiation, stem cell transplant,
targeted biologic agents and che-
motherapy.
The previous seven fundrais-
ers have raised about $1 million,
according to Moss. Ninety percent
of the funds raised are donated to
the Multiple Myeloma Research
Foundation, which has advanced
the genomic sequencing of mul-
tiple myeloma, funded research

Sid and Sharon Moss

grants and brought new drugs to
market.
“Less than 20 years ago, people
who got the disease were only
expected to live a couple of years.
That has all changed,” Moss says.
“There are numerous drugs cur-
rently on the market that came
from Multiple Myeloma Research
Foundation support for clinical
trials and research, and they con-
tinually support testing for more.”
Most of the remaining funds
are used to help local patients,
including educational breakfasts
that allow them to meet cancer
specialists and ask specific ques-
tions about the disease and its
treatment. Moss created a non-
profit organization, Cure Multiple
Myeloma Corporation, to operate
in conjunction with the benefit in
2015.
Paula Korelitz, a Wine and Dine
in the D volunteer for several years,
describes Moss as “a Jewish man
who has done something for the
community, not just himself.” •

Wine & Dine in the D will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Westin Book Cadillac
in Detroit with a physician panel discussion.
A strolling dinner begins at 6 p.m., with jazz
by Ursula Walker and the Buddy Budson
Quintet, and a silent auction. Tickets are
$175-$275, with reduced rates for multiple
myeloma patients. Call Sharon Kelly at (248)
449-6663 or visit bit.ly/2DCtQb9.