About the fund

The Alan Rosenthal Research Fund in Hemangiopericytoma was established in May 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center under the direction of Dr. Mary Louise Keohan. Until that time no research fund had been in existence for this very rare disease. The fund supports clinical trials and helps underwrite path breaking research in hemangiopericytoma and is especially helpful to the Cancer Center's investigators who need early funding for projects that could later be eligible for support from government agencies such as the National Institute of Health.

In 1995, at 31 years old, Alan Rosenthal was diagnosed with Hemangiopericytoma. The fund is in his honor.

Alan Rosenthal

Alan Rosenthal left an indelible influence on those who knew him. He was a remarkable human being; kind, generous and much more comfortable giving than receiving. He was truly funny--he possessed a great, sharp and dry sense of humor and was a keen observer of life around him. He was the most loving partner, brother, son and friend.

Alan never let his illness define his existence. He was without self-pity; his attitude was not "why me?" but rather "why not me - if not me, then who?" Throughout the years of his illness he embraced life fully, learning and loving to sail, dog-sledding, rock climbing. He fell in love and married and started a family. He was keenly aware of how precarious life is and his motto was to "sweat the small stuff," since the big issues are often beyond one's control, as in his case, they were.

Alan's integrity, dignity, strength, courage, and love of life are an inspiration to us all. His great desire was to be of help to others. This fund has become part of Alan's legacy.