JERRY M. GOWE
A BYU student shared the spotlight Thursday with Persian Gulf General Norman Schwarzkopf and baseball legend Rod Carew, highlighting a special session of the U.S. Senate assembled to discuss funding for disease research.
Zenia Bringhurst, a senior from Beaverton, Ore. majoring in chemistry, was invited by Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) to address a special joint hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Committee on Aging held on Sept. 26, 1996 because of her involvement with cancer research.
“They invited me to come back there and testify before the United States Senate. I guess the reason why it was such a big thing is because General Norman Schwarzkopf was there and Rod Carew, the former baseball player, and also the President of the Parkinson’s Disease Association,” said Bringhurst.
Bringhurst said she was involved with the Miss Oregon contest this summer and contestants had to choose a platform or issue they believed to be critical and wanted to do something about. Bringhurst chose increasing the funding for cancer research as her platform.
“As a senior in high school my cousin became diagnosed with cancer and I really wanted to do research, so I started working in the pathology lab at St. Vincent Hospital in Oregon trying to understand what cancer was. I was examining tumors and things like that,” Bringhurst said.
Bringhurst said she came to BYU and as a freshman started working with Dr. James Thorne, a BYU professor in the chemistry department. Bringhurst said he was doing cancer research dealing with photodynamic therapy.
“Because my platform was increasing the funding for cancer research, Sen. Hatfield, who is a strong advocate for medical research, invited me to speak back in Washington,” Bringhurst said.
Bringhurst said she spent the past year conversing with staff at Sen. Hatfield’s office on the issue of cancer research.
Bringhurst started a program a year ago called “CURE,” which stands for Cancer Understanding through Research Efforts.
“They wanted me to testify before a hearing a year ago. Sen. Hatfield issued a floor statement a year ago stating that ‘We need to make sure that funds are available for people like Zenia who want to pursue research in the future,'” Bringhurst said.
According to Bringhurst, Sen. Hatfield submitted a proposal with Sen. Harkin (D-Iowa), called the Trust Fund Proposal, which would increase the tobacco tax one cent and put all the money towards research.
Bringhurst said over the summer an article was written about her in the Oregonian, Oregon’s state newspaper, called “Beauty with a Cause,” because she was involved with Miss Oregon and had a real platform dedicated to cancer research.
When asked about her experience at the capitol, Bringhurst called it an exciting adventure with many incredible moments.
“Thursday morning I was invited to a breakfast with the senators. It was only for the senators and General Schwarzkopf and physicians who were also invited as guest speakers for the hearing. I met General Schwarzkopf there and got to know Rod Carew as well so we could get acquainted before we had to sit there and actually deliver the speeches. That was fun. I really enjoyed that,” Bringhurst said.
“General Schwarzkopf started out the meeting and I finished it up,” Bringhurst said.
Bringhurst said she was surprised to be displayed as such an important guest among so many important people.
Bringhurst said General Schwarzkopf delivered a beautiful speech about the importance of research.
“Schwarzkopf was diagnosed with prostate cancer and survived. He’s happy to say that he is now okay. He repeatedly used this war metaphor and said that we’re facing a war against cancer. He said ‘We need to do something about this war we’re facing.’ It was very affective,” Bringhurst said.
After he spoke, Bringhurst said Rod Carew shared the most emotional experience. He showed a clip relating the experience he incurred with his daughter who had leukemia. Bringhurst said they were trying to get a bone marrow transplant for her.
“60,000 Americans donated their bone marrow for her, but none of them matched,” Bringhurst said.
“He showed a video clip of his daughter suffering, and it was so sad. It was really touching showing the before and after. She had gone through chemo and she was so weak after,” Bringhurst said.
Bringhurst said Carew came to the committee just to testify about his daughter.
After Carew’s speech, Joan Samuelson, president of the Parkinson’s Action Network spoke. Bringhurst said Samuelson has Parkinson’s disease and spoke directly with senators.
According to Bringhurst, Samuelson told about her feelings. At the very end of her speech she told the senators they didn’t owe her the cure for Parkinson’s disease or anything because she had the disease, but rather because she has paid taxes. Bringhurst said Samuelson told the committee the money is needed right now to do more research.
“All the senators really got into this emotionally. They were really hearing these people,” Bringhurst said.
Bringhurst said she told the committee she had performed research for four years. She posed three questions. The first question was “What has research done for us?” The second question was “Are we continuing to nurture current research investigators?”
“I finished my speech leaving the final question open to be answered by the senators. ‘As a future scientist am I assured that my future research endeavors will be supported?’ I will leave this answer up to you today,” Bringhurst said.
In her speech Bringhurst shared with the senators the example of former BYU President Rex Lee.
“Rex Lee was the president when I came to BYU and I watched the president of my university battle cancer. Listening to him and Janet speak on numerous occasions, and after seeing the pain he was experiencing, I was touched. He was a role model for me,” Bringhurst said.
Bringhurst said research has done so much already, but can still do so much more.
“Research helped him (President Lee) to live an additional 11 years. 11 years that he wouldn’t have lived without research. We have found methods of controlling cancer so that it doesn’t spread as much. Research extended his life, but unfortunately it couldn’t save him,” Bringhurst said.
“We’re at the point where we need to focus on saving people. We need to find cures for diseases. We’re almost at that point, but we need to continue to support and expand our research funds,” Bringhurst said.
“Senator Bennett of Utah actually cried when he was talking about him. He spoke to the other senators and told them that this nation had lost a great man when Rex Lee passed away,” Bringhurst said.
After the panel had finished addressing the senators, a panel of doctors addressed them, Bringhurst said.
“The most interesting thing about the whole trip was that I got to see not the hard exterior of these senators — I got to see the person. Some of them were telling about personal experiences and some of them cried. They got really emotional and I guess it’s hard not to when you’re talking about losing someone from disease or experiencing it yourself. I always thought government workers were these hard, strict people but they were actually so sweet,” Bringhurst said.
“Based upon the senators that were there, it was unanimous. All of them wanted to increase research funding. They know how important it is so it’s just a matter of them following through. I have a good feeling about this. I think they will,” Bringhurst said.
Bringhurst said she was there representing the future of research.
“Many senators said it was one of the most emotional and touching hearings they had ever attended. I was just honored to be there,” Bringhurst said.
Robyn Dalzen/Daily Universe
ANY SOLUTIONS?: Zenia Kim, a senior from Beavertom, Ore. majoring in chemistry, and Dr. James Thorn of the chemistry department work at a spectrophotometer, a device that measures to depth of color of solutions. Kim recently had the opportunity to speak before Congress about cancer research funding.
