Richard Bloch, Cancer Advocate & Warrior, Dies of Heart Failure at 78

Colleagues and friends remember Richard A. Bloch as “a real warrior” against cancer and “a wonderful, wonderful person” who turned a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer into a quarter century of advocacy. Mr. Bloch—who co-founded the world's largest tax-preparation firm, H&R Block, with his brother Henry in 1955—died July 21 of heart failure. He was 78. Mr. Bloch was told he had three months to live when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1978. He and his wife, Annette, lived in Kansas City, MO, but on the recommendation of a friend they decided to seek treatment at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “He came down and we treated him with everything we could think of, and we cured him,” said Evan M. Hersh, MD, now Professor of Medicine, Microbiology, and Immunology and Associate Director for Experimental Therapeutics and Translational Research at the Arizona Cancer Center.Figure: A Tribute to Richard Bloch, Cancer Advocate & Warrior, Who Died of Heart Failure Last Month“He then dedicated the rest of his life to cancer….He was a wonderful, wonderful person. It's a tremendous loss to society that he's gone.” Created Cancer Hotline Dr. Hersh and others remembered Mr. Bloch's passionate commitment to helping other cancer patients learn all they could about their disease. The Blochs started the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation in Kansas City in 1980, the same year Mr. Bloch created the Cancer Hotline. The hotline—1-800-433-0464—is staffed by volunteers who are battling cancer or have had it in the past. Mr. Bloch funded the hotline himself. Mr. Bloch also worked with the National Cancer Institute to start the Physicians Data Query, or PDQ, comprehensive cancer database— www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/cancer database—and donated a building in Bethesda, MD, since named the R.A. Bloch International Cancer Information Center. “Richard Bloch was a real warrior” in the war on cancer, said Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., MD, former NCI Director and now Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine at Yale Cancer Center and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Public Health. “He set an example for cancer patients everywhere by not taking ‘No, I can't do anything for you’ for an answer….He fell in love with the concept we had for the PDQ system and contributed time, energy, and his own resources in helping us build it.” Cancer Rallies, Cancer Parks The Bloch Cancer Foundation sponsors Fighting Cancer Rallies in more than 700 cities throughout the United States. And in 1990, the foundation built its first Cancer Survivors Park, of which there are now 20 in major cities across the country (OT, 2/25/04). Mr. Bloch's goal was to build 50 parks in the US and Canada, with the Foundation contributing $1 million to build each park. The parks are built along major streets, where people can drive by and see a sign that says “Cancer Survivors Park.” “People see the signs, and they get the idea that cancer does not mean death,” Mr. Bloch told OT earlier this year. “And then when their cancer is diagnosed, they will remember the park, and think of those words and feel hope.” Mr. Bloch served on the National Cancer Advisory Board and was a member of the board of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) since it was started in 1986. “Whether at the grassroots or here in Washington, Dick's unwavering support of cancer survivorship and the issues that we champion has meant so very much,” Ellen L. Stovall, NCCS President and CEO, wrote in a letter to Vangie Rich, Administrator of the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation. “We marveled at Dick's involvement with many activities over the years, which enriched the survivorship movement—his role in helping to found the Cancer Information Service, his involvement in National Cancer Survivors' Day activities, and his dedication to creating survivors' parks in beautiful urban settings around the country—all of which and more are a living testimony to his life well-lived on behalf of so many of us who advocate for quality cancer care.” Richard and Annette Bloch authored three books on living with cancer, and gave away nearly 1 million copies to patients. “I don't think there is such a thing as an unbeatable cancer,” Mr. Bloch told OT in January. “Attitude had a lot to do with my beating cancer. I was told I wasn't going to live more than three months. But I was lucky enough to find the right doctors. I had tremendous support from my family, which is very important. I had a strong desire to live. I have a strong faith in God. A lot of people said prayers for me. You put it all together, and I lived.”

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