Dear readers, I wish to dedicate this column to the fond memories of my mother Latifah, who died of cancer in 2008. I am writing these lines to convey a message of hope to my younger sister Maryam who is currently battling with the same illness. She was diagnosed with cancer last year.
My late mother received treatment at Dhahran Aramco Hospital and my sister is currently being treated at the same facility.
Last month, I happened to visit the Saudi Cultural Mission in Fairfax, Virginia. I was planning to write something about a newly-established Center for Career Development. For that purpose I went there and met Nahla Al-Jubeir, director of the center.
She told me about the opportunities the center offered to Saudi students studying in the United States on King Abdullah Scholarship Program.
We talked about the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Saudi Cultural Mission and various American corporations and institutions, which were interested in offering young Saudis on job training so as to prepare them for the Saudi job market.
During the conversation, we came across the name of a cancer research facility located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is called Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), which was founded by Jon Huntsman’s family in 1995. The minute I heard the name Huntsman, I started recalling what I had heard about their noble mission to help medical science understand cancer, improve cancer treatments, help provide relief to cancer patients and to promote ways to help prevent cancer.
I read about Huntsman during my research on the petrochemical industry around the world including the Saudi Industrial City of Al Jubail in the Eastern Province. I also came across this name during the media coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. I read that the Huntsman family was one of the biggest charity donors in the world. They donate generously not only to cancer research but also to other charitable causes. Charity was part of the makeup of Jon and his wife Karen since their birth.
In February 2002, Salt Lake City and its hospitable people remained the center of world’s attention. Years later, Jon Huntsman Jr. was elected the governor of Utah. And later, he made headlines during 2012 when he was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. When President Barack Obama won the presidency, he appointed the former governor as the US ambassador to China. And who knows? Maybe one day Huntsman Jr. would become the commander-in-chief.
A day after my meeting with Nahla Al-Jubeir, I was invited to attend a reception at the home of Gov. Jon and Mary Kaye Huntsman in Washington. At the reception, I was accompanied by Paige Peterson, senior vice president of Huntsman Cancer Institute. She is a two-time cancer survivor. At the reception I enjoyed having conversations with so many of the Washington elite. Ironically, the most enjoyable thing I had wasn’t the talk, but the listening part. The guests were treated to a beautiful talent show performed by the students of the University of Utah’s School of Music. We heard the best piano classics played by Mary Ann, Cassie, Amy, Stella and Lindsey (The Ladies in Red).
It is touching to see many charity organizations fighting cancer and other diseases around the world. In Saudi Arabia there are many Saudi businessmen and women, physicians and volunteers who are going an extra mile to educate people about the importance of early diagnosis of cancer. They also teach cancer patients and their families how to cope with it. It would be pertinent to mention here that Jon Huntsman Sr. mother died in his arms. She had cancer.
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