NEW YORK, NEW YORK--(Marketwire - Oct. 3, 2008) -

Attention: Health and Lifestyle Editors

The Foundation for Thymic Cancer Research (FTCR), www.thymic.org, is holding its second annual symposium in Houston, Texas on October 2-4. On the outside it may appear just like any other medical convention, but what is really happening is groundbreaking and uplifting. Alan Blaustein, diagnosed with Thymic Cancer two years ago, has become a leader in the fight for change and has brought together doctors from different disciplines and institutions to share their knowledge and research for the purpose of working together to treat Thymic Cancer. Brought to national attention recently by the Stand Up to Cancer movement, Alan Blaustein and the FTCR had begun the concept of shared information two years ago and have already implemented some effective processes which are changing the way cancer information is shared within the professional community.

"At our first symposium, I was blown away by the willingness of the doctors to work together. I was equally astonished by how little communication there actually was between institutions and between disciplines (e.g., oncology, surgery, radiology, pathology) within institutions. It was a true Tower of Babel," says Alan Blaustein, Executive Director, FTCR. "This is such a rare disease with very little known about it and we've already been able to define what it is, create some national guidelines, develop a research journal, drive better communication and begin a tissue repository. That is huge."

WHO:    Alan Blaustein, Executive Director of the Foundation for Thymic
        Cancer Research together with 45 top doctors from various
        disciplines in the field of cancer
WHAT:   The Second Thymic Neoplasm Workshop
WHEN:   October 2-4, 2008
WHERE:  M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
WHY:    A groundbreaking workshop to share information on research and
        new treatments of Thymic cancer. Blaustein can share his
        experiences and insights as he navigated the healthcare system
        on his quest for a diagnosis and his vision for a system that works

About Thymic Cancer

Thymic Cancer is an aggressive, difficult-to-treat, and little-understood disease that affects the thymus, a small organ located in the upper/front portion of your chest, extending from the base of the throat to the front of the heart.

About Alan Blaustein

A media and entertainment consultant and executive in New York City, Blaustein's Thymic Cancer took far too long to diagnose partly due to the rare nature of this form of cancer and partly due to the lack of shared information between the various medical disciplines. After finally receiving a diagnosis in 2005, he was determined to make some changes. When his then three-year old son named his cancer "stinky ball," Blaustein used the name to begin a fundraising effort. The main goal of Stinky Ball, www.stinkyball.org, is to educate everyone on this rare disease and deliver an important message - "No stinky ball can lessen the spirit or the celebration of life. Play more, work less."

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