Shortly before Steve McHugh and his wife moved to San Antonio in 2010, the rising star chef was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and spent a year undergoing eight rounds of chemotherapy.
“Chemotherapy was a real roller coaster – I experienced insomnia, constipation and dizzy spells. There were times I would not sleep for three to four days,” he said.
During treatment, he was in the middle of moving to San Antonio and helping to open a new restaurant. Between managing construction, organizing food vendors and working with the kitchen designer, he was able to find some time to go home and rest.
He says his wife, Sylvia, was impacted the most. “We are so close and I know it scared her. She is my best friend and I was more scared for her and her feelings than I was scared for myself, and my health,” he said. His family, including all six of his brothers rushed to his side. “My brother Jake sent me tons of DVDs of my favorite show, “Family Guy.” My parents visited me – they were very scared and nervous.”
While going through chemotherapy, he read the pamphlets made available by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in his doctor’s office. When his doctor told him that he was going to be put on the R-CHOP regimen, he had no idea what that meant. The resources helped him understand the therapies. “One of the drugs was rituximab, and I later found out that LLS funds dedicated to research were critical in advancing this therapy. That’s when I knew I had to get involved.”
Today, he is in remission and back in the kitchen. In 2013, he opened his first restaurant, Cured. The name has a meaning that is both medical and culinary – it serves as a reminder of his experience with blood cancer and his restaurant is known for savory charcuterie plates and cured meats.
For two years, he volunteered with Light The Night Walk, LLS’s evening fundraising walks, and now he is a board member of LLS’s South Central Texas Chapter.
This September, Steve hosted his second annual “Cured for a Cure Dinner,” which featured five-course meals prepared by renowned chefs from across the globe. The dinner benefits LLS and this year it raised nearly $35,000 to fund life-saving research.
“I am blown away by how blessed I am both locally, by the patrons who spend a big ticket for a seat, and nationally, by the renowned chefs who fly in to donate their time and talent to participate.”
This year, one of the chefs involved was James Beard Award-winning Linton Hopkins of Atlanta, who survived lymphoma when he was 29 years old. McHugh met Linton when they were both participating in the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival in 2014.
“Linton is the kind of chef who wants to make sure his employees have lives outside of the restaurant. He doesn’t believe in working them to the ground, but wants them to go on vacations and spend time with their families. I think this is because Linton knows the importance of life, and quality time with loved ones.”
Steve follows the same philosophy in his personal life and at his restaurant, Cured.
Christopher Vakoc, M.D., Ph.D., leads a team of researchers being funded through LLS’s Career Development Program. At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island, N.Y., Vakoc works in an area of science called epigenetics – the study of chemical changes that switch genes on and off to control cell behavior.
What is epigenetics?
Epigenetics is arguably one of the fastest-moving fields of cancer research.
In the cancer field, it refers to the mechanisms of gene control. Essentially, the machinery in cells that determines whether some genes should be “turned on” or “shut off.”
Why is epigenetics relevant to blood cancer?
As we have studied the DNA (aka the genome) of leukemia cells, and compared it with normal tissues, we have learned that the machines that control epigenetics are commonly altered in this disease.
This has surprised quite a few people, and made many scientists in the field recognize the epigenetics is a major cause of diseases like leukemia. Based on this, many drug-makers are pursuing a hypothesis that targeting epigenetic pathways with drugs might selectively harm leukemia cells while sparing normal tissues.
What is your team investigating?
When changes take place in the proteins that control epigenetic processes, this can affect how genes behave. Our research team is working to discover certain proteins in cells that are responsible for faulty “on” and “off” states of genes.
In blood cancer, cells will often turn “on” cancer-promoting genes that are normally silent and turn “off” genes that can suppress cancer.
Many scientists believe that our investigation of epigenetics in blood cancer will lead to improved targeted cancer therapies, which may restore normality to the epigenetic programing in leukemia cells.
What is innovative about your approach?
Our team is using CRSPR, a new genome editing tool, to reveal ‘hotspots’ in leukemia cells, which might be suitable for drug intervention to treat this disease. We are on the hunt for cancer-causing proteins – or targets – that are below the radar screen of everyone else in the field.
Our hope is that we might “open up” the target landscape in leukemia. This will provide justification for drug developers to pursue next-generation targeted therapies, which will lead to better outcomes for patients.
A month after Dr. Matt McManus of Austin, Texas, lost his mother to leukemia, he joined LLS as the 2016 Austin Light The Night Corporate Walk Chair. In her honor, he is helping to fund research to find cures and ensure access to treatments for blood cancer patients.
Dr. McManus’s dedication is not just personal. As the CEO of Asuragen, a molecular diagnostics company, he is in the business of providing solutions to drive better treatment for cancer patients. Asuragen is a global diagnostic products company and sponsor of LLS’s Austin Light The Night Walk (November 12).
What is Asuragen’s latest innovation for leukemia patients?
Last month, Asuragen received FDA clearance for a new diagnostic kit for monitoring of response in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients, which will help physicians monitor how a patient is responding to treatment. It is the first and only FDA-cleared molecular test for monitoring CML patients.
CML is unique in that it is caused by a change in a single gene called BCR-ABL (also known as the Philadelphia Chromosome). The diagnostic kit monitors the amount of this gene in the blood from cancer cells to help physicians understand if targeted therapies are working. This has the potential to help significantly improve the cost and standard of care for patients.
How did your company become involved in Light The Night?
Asuragen sponsored the Light The Night Walk in Austin last year. After completing a local triathlon, I came upon the LLS booth. While there, I spoke with the volunteers and decided that I wanted to be involved personally, and discuss a corporate sponsorship opportunity.
A few weeks later, my mother was diagnosed with leukemia. That October, the Light The Night walk in Austin was canceled due to terrible storms. As a corporate sponsor, we decided that the show must go on. We held a mini walk at our office a few weeks later. Our employees carried illuminated lanterns – white for survivors, red for supporters and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer. Sadly, my mother passed away that December.
What started as an employee engagement activity that fit our mission has become something much bigger than that for me on a personal level. This year, I am honored to serve as the Light the Night Corporate Walk Chair. We are aiming to field a team of at least 100 people. For a company of 140, that is a lofty participation goal!
What does participating mean for your employees?
Many of our employees have a personal connection to blood cancer and we are committed to being an active voice and presence in the cancer community working toward a cure.
One of our employees lost her husband to leukemia, and she still speaks passionately about the support she and her family received from LLS during such a difficult time. We are all motivated by LLS’s mission and consider it a privilege to be able to help fund lifesaving research and ensure access to treatments for blood cancer patients.
Shortly before Steve McHugh and his wife moved to San Antonio in 2010, the rising star chef was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and spent a year undergoing eight rounds of chemotherapy.
Christopher Vakoc, M.D., Ph.D., leads a team of researchers being funded through 
