Blue Faery Grants Liver Cancer Research Award to Dr. Ghassan Abou-Alfa

    LOS ANGELES, CA, April 09, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Primary liver cancer, also known as Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Blue Faery created the award to recognize medical professionals who develop innovative research in the fight against HCC, which has no cure.

This year's recipient of the Blue Faery Award is Dr. Ghassan Abou-Alfa who states, "I am truly very honored and touched. Thank you for the generous award and recognition. This is a great honor especially coming from Blue Faery. I am thrilled to continue to work with you and help you with your impressive endeavor."

Dr. Ghassan Abou-Alfa from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, specializes in the treatment of liver cancer. Dr. Abou-Alfa serves as the chair of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Task Force for Hepatobiliary Cancers, the chair of the AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) Non-AIDS Defining Malignancies (NADC) Liver/GI Task Force, and is the President-Elect for the International Society of Gastrointnstinal Oncology. Dr. Abou-Alfa has lectured worldwide on the subject of liver cancer. He serves as the chair of the medical/scientific board of Blue Faery and the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, and serves on the National Medical Advisory Committee of the American Liver Foundation.

About this year's recipient, President Andrea Wilson said, "We are thrilled to give the Blue Faery Award to one of our closest supporters and colleagues. As our Medical Research Committee Chair, Dr. Abou-Alfa has helped bring worldwide attention to Blue Faery's mission and vision of a liver cancer free future." Andrea Wilson started Blue Faery in honor of her sister Adrienne, who died of HCC only 145 days after her diagnosis at the age of 15. Blue Faery announces the recipient of the BFA on April 8 –– Adrienne's birthday. She would have been 32 years old this year. Dr. Abou-Alfa will receive $3,000 and a custom Blue Faery plaque to commemorate his achievement.

Founded in 2002, Blue Faery is the only nonprofit organization in the United States solely devoted to fighting HCC. The mission of Blue Faery is to prevent, treat and cure primary liver cancer, specifically Hepatocellular Carcinoma, through research, education and advocacy. Blue Faery has developed an HCC patient education brochure for liver cancer patients, their families and their healthcare providers. The FREE brochure, which has been translated into Chinese and Spanish, has been distributed in over 40 treatment centers across the nation and in countries such as China, Nigeria and Armenia.

# # #