'Cooking Up A Cure for Colon Cancer' Holds 3rd Annual Dinner

Culinary Event Sponsored by PNC Bank Will Raise Funds for Pitt Research

Pittsburgh, April 23, 2009 — The third annual "Cooking Up A Cure for Colon Cancer" fundraising event, sponsored by PNC Bank, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday, May 7, at the Oakmont Country Club, 1233 Hulton Road, Oakmont. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Jane and Carl Citron Chair in Colon Cancer at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Organizers of the event will bring together food-lovers and philanthropists from the Pittsburgh area and beyond to support colon cancer awareness, education and research. This year's dinner will be a strolling supper party, featuring the Oakmont Country Club's Executive Chef Tom Pepka, who was named 2008 Chef of the Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Culinary Federation. In addition to dinner, the evening will include a silent auction of unique sports and luxury items. Last year's event, which sold out, raised more than $275,000 for colon cancer research.

The Jane and Carl Citron Chair in Colon Cancer is dedicated to locally driven research to uncover the causes of colon cancer. Jane Citron, a professional cook and food writer for 28 years, died of colon cancer in 2006. Donations given in her honor have been dedicated to establishing a $2 million fund for the endowed Citron Chair. Before her death, it was Ms. Citron's idea to create the fund.

More than 100,000 Americans will be diagnosed this year with colorectal cancer, the second-leading cause of all cancer-related deaths in the United States. If diagnosed in the early stages, the survival rate for colon cancer is as high as 90 percent. Funds received from the event will assist in supporting public screenings, funding research, promoting public education and providing support to individuals and families whose lives have been touched by colon cancer.

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