Dance Marathon at 30: Dance Marathon Doctor Duo

Physicians Alexander Bassuk and David Dickens have shown they’ll do what it takes to support pediatric patients at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

At the last UI Dance Marathon Big Event, Bassuk was challenged to energize the crowd by doing a cartwheel on stage in exchange for a $100 pledge to the cause. “I said, ‘Sure, if it’s for the kids, I’ll do it,” recalls Bassuk, professor and chair of the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. “I did stick the landing.”

“If it's for the kids, I'll do it.” —Alexander Bassuk

Bassuk first became passionate about Dance Marathon when he attended mini marathon events with his kids at Horn Elementary School in Iowa City and saw the younger generation rally behind the cause. The mini marathons are programs at the primary or secondary school level that fundraise for UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital with the support of a collegiate Dance Marathon program.

Meanwhile, Dickens—who never thought he’d go into pediatrics—became interested in the field after volunteering to hold magic shows for kids undergoing cancer treatment at the hospital. Now the UI Dance Marathon endowed clinical professor of pediatric oncology, who also serves as a pediatric hematology-oncology specialist at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, leads a team of medical professionals toward the goal of curing cancer.

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION

Fundraise for the Future

Dickens says one of the most compelling aspects of being connected to Dance Marathon is the grassroots nature of the organization. “There’s a certain level of elevation in mood that educators get when they are interacting with the next generation of people who are going to care for the world, and [we] feel a level of excitement, energy, and sacrifice for a greater cause,” he says. “That’s why I like interacting with Dance Marathon students. It’s a hope for a better future.”

“The ability to cure childhood cancers for me is the major driving force about why we would support Dance Marathon.” —Alexander Bassuk

Each year, over 1,000 students join UI Dance Marathon. Through fundraising and supporting local families, the organization is changing the future for pediatric cancer patients. “The ability to cure childhood cancers for me is the major driving force about why we would support Dance Marathon,” says Bassuk. “Before I was born, if you had a diagnosis of pediatric leukemia, you had a 90 percent chance of dying within five years. By the time I was in medical school, you had a 90 percent chance of surviving if you had that same diagnosis. That is because of research and because of excellent clinical care that has changed the lives of countless children and future generations.”

Physician David Dickens

Dance Marathon has new opportunities each year to support research that leads to cures for childhood cancer. Dickens explains that while we are making progress with research, there is more need in the community than there are dollars to give.

“Progress in medicine is going to be proportional to the investment,” Dickens says. “UI Dance Marathon is our largest financial supporter for [the hospital's pediatric oncology, hematology, and bone marrow transplant] program, and it’s helping me see that progress is happening at a faster pace than it otherwise would have been. How we deliver our care, the cures that we have available today, the research that we have giving us hope for the future is all happening at a faster pace as a direct result of Dance Marathon’s investment.”

In its 30th year of fundraising for pediatric cancer, Dance Marathon aims to increase its support for medical advancements. Bassuk says the organization’s commitment to endowing a new research professorship at Iowa can go a long way toward finding a cure. He says, “The idea is that this will allow us to bring the absolute best and brightest minds to the University of Iowa to move the field forward.”

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