James Naughton and family hold ‘A Tribute to Pamela’

Tony Award-winning star of theater, film and television James Naughton of Weston and his family will host A Tribute to Pamela, an evening of musical entertainment to benefit promising new research aimed at the early detection of pancreatic cancer, on Sunday, May 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport.

Honoring the legacy of Naughton’s wife, who lost her courageous battle with pancreatic cancer in 2013, A Tribute to Pamela will feature solos, duets and group performances by Naughton and his family, including daughter Keira, a Broadway and television actress; son Greg, a producer, actor, singer and songwriter; and daughter-in-law Kelli O’Hara, a Broadway superstar who won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Anna in the King and I.

Proceeds from A Tribute to Pamela support a landmark, three-year pancreatic cancer research study at WCHN being led by Richard C. Frank, MD, a hematologist/oncologist and the Director of Clinical Cancer Research at Norwalk Hospital’s C. Anthony and Jean Whittingham Cancer Center.

“My family and I are extremely grateful to Dr. Frank for his exceptionally compassionate care of my wife throughout her course of treatment at Norwalk Hospital,” said Naughton. “A Tribute to Pamela is a meaningful way for us to honor her and to give back by advancing Dr. Frank’s promising pancreatic cancer research, the goal of which is the early detection of pancreatic cancer.”

For information about ticket and sponsorship opportunities for A Tribute to Pamela, call the Norwalk Hospital Foundation at 203-852-2386 or visit www.wchn.org/TributetoPamela.

WCHN Research Study

Although pancreatic cancer is curable when detected at a very early stage, no effective means currently exist for pancreatic cancer screening in the general population, and pancreatic cancer causes few symptoms until in its latest stages.

Focused on individuals with a family history of pancreatic cancer and those with recent-onset diabetes mellitus, WCHN’s research study explores the efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a screening tool to detect early pancreatic cancer. The study will also create a serum bio-bank with the potential to support the development of novel biomarkers for use in detecting pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages. For more information about the WCHN research study, call 203-855-3517.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal of human malignancies. The fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, pancreatic cancer has a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent. Pancreatic cancer is on a trajectory to become the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States by 2020, and Connecticut currently ranks first (tied) in pancreatic cancer incidence in the United States.

By Weston Forum (2017, FEBRUARY 23). James Naughton and family hold ‘A Tribute to Pamela’. Retrieved from broadwayworld.com: http://bit.ly/2mBtLYA