Rybacki Memorial Tournament Helps Fight Multiple Myeloma

On September 8, the Rybacki Memorial Golf Tournament will mark its 33rd anniversary supporting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The tournament will be held at the Haven Club in Boylston, MA, and will raise funds for the work of Dr. Paul Richardson and the fight against multiple myeloma.

SIGMA President Larry Rybacki explains how the generosity of SIGMA and the waterworks industry have made an impact: “This tournament is special to me and to our friends and family because it unites the waterworks industry. Competitors set their differences aside and unite for a common cause: to cure cancer.”

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that develops when abnormal plasma cells, a type of white blood cell, accumulate in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells. It is considered an uncommon cancer, though it's the second most common blood cancer in the United States. About 30,000 to 35,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the US, representing approximately 1% of all cancers.

Dr. Richardson, a world-renowned leader in multiple myeloma research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is advancing the next generation of therapies for multiple myeloma. Funds from the Rybacki Tournament will help expand the clinical research team so they can open more trials each year, accelerating the development of promising treatments and innovated drugs that show greater effectiveness and fewer side effects for patients who have exhausted other options. He comments, “I am deeply honored that Larry has chosen to direct the funds from the annual Rybacki Memorial Golf Tournament to support our clinical research and honor his friend Bill Driskill. Community fundraisers like the Rybacki Tournament allow our team to continue the work needed to help others with multiple myeloma and to meaningfully improve outcome for patients. ”

Funds will also support a major new clinical study, DETERMINATION II, which builds on previous research to help doctors tailor treatment strategies and improve quality of life for patients living longer with this disease. Because traditional funding sources often don’t cover the full cost of this kind of groundbreaking, patient-centered work, the Rybacki Memorial Tournament plays a vital role in moving research forward faster.

Last year, Larry and Chris Rybacki joined the Dana-Farber “Wall of Fame” when they surpassed $1.2 million of funds raised over the years. To support this year’s benefit, please contact Cindy Dayotas at cdayotas@sigmaco.com.