One family is remembering their granddaughter’s courageous cancer battle by creating a lasting legacy that will help others for generations to come. New Orleans residents Hilaire and Ethel Lanaux sorely miss their granddaughter Hillary Lanaux, who was 20-years-old when she passed away in 2001 due to an aggressive soft-tissue sarcoma. To help save lives and remember their granddaughter and honor her caregivers, the Lanauxs have made a transformational donation to Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center to fund prevention, education, and early detection services in Covington, Houma, and parishes in the surrounding areas. Their goal for the gift is to lessen the number of lives cut short by cancer and decrease the number of families devastated by losing loved ones.
Hillary’s mother, Hilda Lanaux, said Dr. Jack Saux, a Northshore Oncology Associates physician, and the other clinicians on her daughter’s team were pleasant, warm professionals who offered the absolute best care for her daughter. Hilaire, Hillary’s grandfather, is also being cared for by Saux. He has been under Saux’s care for 17 years and the Lanaux family has come to love the physician as a caregiver and adopted family member.
“This gift from my parents is really an offering to the community in honor of Dr. Saux and everyone who cared for Hilllary, and for those now caring for my father,” said Hilda Lanaux. “Hillary was a leader and was extremely empathetic to the plights of others. I know she would be so proud of how her grandparents’ gift will touch so many people.”
Ethel and Hilda Lanaux are shown holding a photo of Hillary.
Ethel Lanaux said that her granddaughter showed incredible bravery and had the support of many friends and family members who were by her side as she fought cancer, especially her aunt, Claudia Lanaux Merrick, who took Hillary into her home for skilled nursing care during her illness.
The transformational gift will fund prevention, education, and early detection programs in the Covington and Houma areas where more than 3,500 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Louisiana has the fourth highest cancer mortality rate in the nation, due mainly to the lack of education and the number of late stage cancer diagnoses. The earlier cancer is detected, the better the chances are for a positive outcome. Mary Bird Perkins’ mobile medical clinic, in partnership with St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Terrebonne General Medical Center, travels throughout the Covington and Houma areas and beyond, screening people for breast, colorectal, skin, oral, and prostate cancers.
“Our early detection and education team travels far and wide throughout the Covington and Houma areas to bring five types of cancer screenings to community members,” said Todd Stevens, president and chief operating officer, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “This generous donation from the Lanauxs is a beautiful tribute to Hillary and many lives will be saved because of this gift honoring their beloved granddaughter. It’s the generosity of people like the Lanauxs that make these services possible.”
Mary Bird Perkins is a key partner within St. Tammany Cancer Center in Covington and Mary Bird Perkins TGMC Cancer Center in Houma.