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Bequest Endows Chair to Accelerate Prostate Cancer Research
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Stanford Ascherman
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Many adjectives describe Stanford Ascherman, MD. Feisty. Principled. Direct. Determined. But perhaps "generous" best captures his spirit.
Before he died of prostate cancer last November at age 78, the San Francisco surgeon established the Stanford W. Ascherman and Norman R. Ascherman Endowed Chair. A bequest of $1 million from his estate funded the chair, which will support prostate cancer research at UCSF.
"He was blunt and irascible, but no one could be more generous than Stanford," says Bruce Lubarsky, a local attorney and his friend of 40 years. "He left almost everything to charity."
A native of Chicago, Ascherman graduated from Stanford University and the University of Illinois School of Medicine. He followed Norman, his identical twin brother, to San Francisco in 1959. Norman, who still lives in the city, was a successful dentist.
For years, Ascherman, a bachelor, volunteered to make free house calls on Thanksgiving and Christmas, when other doctors were off duty. He charged only $8 for an office visit long after fees increased, and he did not charge his poor patients at all.
"Stanford wanted to better humanity," says Lubarsky. "This instinct was just inherent in him."
During the early 1960s, Ascherman supported the then-new concept of Medicare, an unpopular stance. As a result of his advocacy, according to Lubarsky, he was involved in several lawsuits with local hospitals over staff privileges. These cases were instrumental in evolving California law on hearings and due process in hospital staff privilege matters.
Ascherman established the chair after being treated for prostate cancer at UCSF. "As a surgeon, Stanford was very interested in the biology of the disease," says his physician Eric Small, MD, UCSF professor of medicine and urology. "He would ask a hundred challenging questions."
The funding will allow UCSF to advance clinical research in three areas: harnessing the immune system to recognize and attack prostate cancer, inhibiting factors that signal prostate cancer to grow, and blocking the process by which the cancer develops its own blood supply.
"Stanford's vision will ensure that UCSF remains the best institution in the country for prostate cancer research and treatment," concludes Small.
To support prostate cancer research at UCSF, contact Lisa Considine at 415/502-8351 or lconsidine@support.ucsf.edu. To establish a life income plan or leave a bequest, contact Dan Riley at 415/476-1475 or driley@support.ucsf.edu.
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