Madeline & Howell Adams, Jr.

Atlanta parents endow AML chair in name of late daughter

From her earliest years to her young adulthood, Madeline Adams never failed to make an impression of upbeat resolve.

When she was in kindergarten, her enthusiastic greetings inspired a friend's dad to volunteer to drive the carpool because "Madeline's 'good morning' makes my day," he said.

Madeline's persistence, hard work and self-discipline as a high-school tennis player earned her a place on four consecutive state championship teams ahead of players with superior talent.

During her senior year at Vanderbilt University in 1990, Madeline was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The next year, she was admitted to the Hutchinson Center for a bone-marrow transplant. It was no surprise that she hit it off with the Center's Dr. John Hansen, her primary physician.

Told it would take 28 days post-transplant for her blood counts to return to normal levels, she said, "Dr. Hansen, I'm going to reach that goal in 21 days."

Instead of cautioning her not to be disappointed if she didn't accomplish such an unrealistic feat, Hansen smiled compassionately and replied, "Madeline, it's good to have hope."

Today, 10 years after Madeline's death at age 24, her parents, Madeline and Howell Adams, Jr. of Atlanta, continue to recount that story and its punch line with pride and affection.

"That's my motto about the Center," said her dad, the retired former owner of Trane Air Conditioning in Georgia. "It plays in a lot of ways. It's good for researchers to continue to have hope when things don't turn out as expected, to have hope for a cure, for the best patient care. I'm a firm believer that positive expectancy and spirituality contribute to a better immune system and better health overall."

"Cancer is such a struggle," her mother added. "If you don't have hope, how can you stay at it?"

During their five months in Seattle, the Adams's grew to understand why the Hutchinson Center had gained its reputation as the best place for a transplant. Witnessing the expert medical care, the intensive research and the supportive attitude of the entire staff, not only provided comfort to her parents, but also fueled their motivation to make a significant contribution to AML research.

In 2002, they gave the center $ 1.5 million to endow a chair that investigates AML.

"We are loving the chance to make a difference and share our good fortune," the Adams's said.

Dr. Steve Collins of the Human Biology Division, whose research on AML focuses on chemical compounds for cancer prevention and treatment, was awarded the chair in 2002.

Such an arrangement is rare at the center. Only one other endowed chair, the Dr. Penny E. Petersen Memorial Chair held by Dr. Oliver Press of the Clinical Research Division, exists. But the Center is working to establish 20 to 30 other such chairs to provide crucial salary support to faculty.