September 25, 2007

Donors give $1.5 million to Purdue Cancer Center in honor of son

Former Ind. Sen. V. Richard "Dick" Miller and his wife Jane K. Miller provided the gift to honor their late son Robert "Robbie" Wallace Miller. Robbie succumbed to a rare form of cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, when he was 11 years old.

"Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States," said Purdue President France A. Córdova. "While science and medicine are winning more battles and saving more lives, the war on cancer is far from over."

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a fast-growing, highly malignant tumor that attaches to muscle tissue and internal organs. It typically strikes young children. Robbie Miller died on Oct. 10, 1976, six weeks after he received a clean bill of health from a routine physical.

"We are one of the thousands of families affected by cancer," said Dick Miller, who earned his bachelor's degree in science from Purdue in 1963 and is a former member of the Purdue Cancer Center's Director's Advisory Board. "We want to support the researchers at the Purdue Cancer Center, where they are developing new diagnostic tools and treatments."

Center director Timothy Ratliff said the funds will help support the center's research and attract top scientists to build upon breakthroughs in the development of new drugs, diagnostic tools and treatments.

"Survival rates for cancer have dramatically improved over the past decade due to an increased ability to diagnose the disease at early stages and the development of more effective treatments," he said. "These advances would not have been possible without basic research from the fields of science, engineering and pharmaceutical sciences. The Purdue Cancer Center provides a forum for researchers in these fields to come together to develop new strategies and innovations in the treatment of cancer."

Dick Miller, along with his brother and sisters, owns Miller's Merry Manor, a chain of nursing homes throughout Indiana started by his parents in 1964.

While a student at Purdue, he was a member of the Excalibur Club and Kappa Delta Rho and lettered in track and field. He also has served on the board of the Kosciusko County Purdue Alumni Association Club and is past president of the Marshall County Purdue Alumni Association club.

Dick Miller also earned a master's degree in business at Indiana University, and Jane graduated from St. Elizabeth School of Nursing in 1961. In 1995 the Millers established the Robbie Chair at the IU Cancer Center.

The Millers' son Vernon Richard II earned a bachelor's degree in technology from Purdue in 1985, and their daughter Pamela Sue also attended Purdue.

The Purdue Cancer Center is one of just seven National Cancer Institute-designated basic-research facilities in the United States. It was established in 1976 and attempts to help cancer patients by identifying new molecular targets and designing future agents and drugs for effectively detecting and treating cancer. The center also is affiliated with the Oncological Sciences Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.

Writer: Elizabeth Gardner, (765) 494-2081, ekgardner@purdue.edu

Source: Timothy Ratliff, (765) 494-9129, tlratliff@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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