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guild gala report by Mark Vruno photography by Diane Smutny The Right Moves at the Sweet S 12 | WINTER 2012 Hosted by the Walter Payton Center Guild, the event raised more than $250,000 for liver disease research and care OME 650 PEOPLE OPENED THEIR HEARTS and their wallets dur- ing an Oct. 22 gala to support the clinical, educational and research programs conducted on behalf of the Walter Payton Liver Center at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sci- ences System. The 12th annual collaboration of Drs. Scott Cotler, Jay Goldstein, Eric Kallwitz and Natasha Walzer, the Liver Center has established a telemedicine system that allows physicians to more effectively treat people who live outside Chicago. "Our goal is to offer telemedicine in cities like Sweetness Ball, emceed by Brittney Payton, daughter of Walter Payton and an award-win- ning television celebrity, was an elegant, black- tie affair featuring blue and orange "Bears" martinis, a 50/50 raffle, silent and live auctions, and dancing to live music from the Bill Pollack Orchestra at Chicago's historic Union Station. Stanton Lewin, co-chairman of the Walter Payton Center Guild, reminded attendees that the Sweetness Ball underwrites a great proportion of UI Hospi- tal's efforts in the area of digestive and liver disease and thanked them for their generous contributions, which totaled over $250,000 and help the Liver Center provide top-quality care. He added some donors are reluctant to give to a state institution because they don't realize the hospital only receives 8 percent of its funding from the state. Past funding from the gala, which has totaled more than $2 million, has enabled marked advances in research and treatment. For example, through the Brittney Payton, the daughter of Walter Payton and an award- winning television celebrity, emceed the guild gala, which has raised more than $2 million during its 12 years of existence. Moline, where the population is over 400,000 yet treatment for HCV is not available," said Thomas Layden, MD, professor of medicine, medical direc- tor and founding member of the Walter Payton Center Guild, a philanthropic organization dedi- cated to assisting the sections of gastroenterology and hepatology at UI Health. "On the clinical side, we are focusing on early detection," he said. "To that end, we provided free screenings in areas such as Chinatown and Bronzeville where hepatitis B and C are prevalent." In 2012, four additional screen- ing opportunities are being offered. "On the research side, our investigators are making great advances in new discoveries that will impede the hepatitis C virus from entering the liver cell. This would be a significant paradigm shift in our ap- proach to prevention and treatment of hepatitis C and its sequela," Layden added. Just as the liver is a vital organ, Layden's contributions have been vital to the center (see sidebar). Connie Payton, widow of Walter, summed it up best when she said: "There would be no Walter Payton Liver Center without Tom Layden." Liver cancer takes more than 19,000 lives in the U.S. per year, representing a higher mortality than the War of 1812, Lewin noted. Hopefully, bringing it down will be easier than tackling Walter Payton, perhaps its most famous victim. The goal of the Walter Payton Center Guild is to stop liver cancer by 2020. The black-tie affair at Chicago's Union Station raised additional funds for the Walter Payton Liver Center. For more online: www.wpcguild.org.