August 6, 1999

At a second annual golf tournament in memory of Brian D. Silber of Peabody, Mass., more than $75,000 was raised for the Spine Tumor Clinic at the MGH – continuing an effort that Silber himself started.

Brian Silber's parents, Sharon and Jason Silber

Silber died of a spinal cord tumor, a rare form of cancer, three years ago at age 28. Before his death, Silber came under the care of Jay Loeffler, MD, then at BWH. Loeffler has since joined the MGH as director of the Northeast Proton Therapy Center.

When it became clear Silber would not beat the cancer, he decided to provide the means to help others do so. He approached Loeffler about creating a research fund for spinal cord tumors. In February of this year, the fund helped open the Spine Tumor Clinic at the MGH, which now is a part of the hospital’s Brain Tumor Center.