The Michele Beller-Hurt Foundation

March 1, 1965 - June 19, 1999

For Small Cell Ovarian Cancer Research


Michele Beller-Hurt was a very special woman who died much too soon because the cancer she had was so rare they didn't know how to treat it. We, her family, have been searching for some way to both honor her memory and contribute in some small way to help those diagnosed with small cell cancer in the future find the answers we were not able to find in time to save Michele. This foundation and website were the results of that search.

The primary function of this website will be to serve as a clearing-house for information concerning this extremely rare form of ovarian cancer known as Small Cell Ovarian Cancer. One of the most frustrating things about this disease is the lack of information about research studies, treatment centers, etc. We hope to use this website to compile the most extensive collection of case studies available. We're still in our infancy, but we're already able to offer links to various web sites dealing with cancer, in general, as well as a few case studies about small cell ovarian cancer, in particular. We also now have Michele's treatment summary information posted here, and we hope to also be able to post treatment summaries from other small cell ovarian cancer patients. So, if you have any information about this dread disease, we hope you'll share it with us.

At this point in time, there are only about 250 known cases of Small Cell cancers worldwide. This makes it difficult to perform the proper case studies, because there aren't enough patients to take part. Therefore, it is also our intention at this time to begin to raise money with the express purpose of setting up a fund at the Cleveland Clinic to be used for research into the causes and possible cures for Small Cell cancers -- most particularly, Small Cell Ovarian Cancer. We chose the Cleveland Clinic because of the superior care Michele received there.


Fund Raisers

We are currently waiting for our 501(c)3 status from the IRS. Until we receive that, we're unable to officially hold any fund-raisers or collect any money for the foundation. In the meantime, we have been in contact with Dr. Maurie Markman and Patricia Swenson at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Markman was the doctor Michele consulted there, and in whom she had such confidence. And Ms. Swenson is the Senior Development Officer at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She's been very helpful in our quest for information about setting up the trust fund to finance the research, and Dr. Markman is eager to begin the research. He has also volunteered to help maintain this website and gather more information to post here.

As soon as we have more details about upcoming fundraisers, we'll post them here.


Case Studies

We will be adding case studies to this site as we find them. If you have any studies not posted here, please email them so that we can add them as soon as possible. The more case studies available in one location, the easier it will be for the doctors to find what they need in time to make a difference in the treatment(s) they are using.

The first study we're posting here is currently the definitive case study for small cell carcinoma of the ovary. It is taken from the American Journal of Surgical Pathology and is very technical in nature. It also contains several pictures of cells, so it may take a few minutes to load. Please be patient.

The following case studies all deal specifically with small cell ovarian cancer. Most of them contain images, so please give them time to load. Also, please accept our apologies for the quality of some of the images. But we're including detailed information in each study, so it should be easy to obtain copies of the original images, if necessary.

Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary of the Hypercalcemic Type:
p53 Protein Accumulation and Clinicopathologic Features

Uterine and Ovarian Conservation in Advanced Small Cell Ovarian Cancer

Advanced-Stage Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary in Pregnancy:
Long-Term Survival after Surgical Debulking and Multiagent Chemotherapy

Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary with Hypercalcemia:
Report of a Case of Survival without Recurrence
5 Years after Surgery and Chemotherapy

Ovarian small cell carcinoma:
A rare neoplasm in a 15-year-old female




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