I’ll bet you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the Lewiston-Auburn area who doesn’t know Patrick Dempsey, namesake of this weekend’s Dempsey Challenge. Conversely, I’m guessing that most people in this community know very little about Amgen, the presenting sponsor of the event.

Amgen is a global biotechnology company that makes medicines for people with serious illnesses. Our products have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of people around the world in their fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, bone disease and other serious illnesses.

At Amgen, our mission is to serve patients and we are continuing to use biotechnology to advance science and dramatically improve people’s lives.

Patrick Dempsey and Amgen have at least three things in common: a passion for the Dempsey Challenge, an ongoing commitment to helping cancer patients and a keen interest in healthy lifestyles, including the sport of cycling.

Amgen and Dempsey became fast friends in 2007, when he was a spokesperson for Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer® initiative. Dempsey’s mom was battling ovarian cancer at the time, so he’d learned firsthand how important it is to have access to good, reliable resources to help the patient, family members and caregivers. He jumped at the opportunity to support Breakaway from Cancer, which was created by Amgen to increase awareness of the important resources available to people affected by cancer, from prevention through survivorship.

Breakaway from Cancer represents a partnership between Amgen and four nonprofit organizations dedicated to empowering patients with education, resources and hope. The Breakaway from Cancer partners collectively offer people affected by cancer a broad range of support services complementing those provided by a patient’s team of health care professionals.

Prevent Cancer Foundation is a national nonprofit organization focused on educating the public about how to prevent cancer and the importance of screening and early detection.

Uniting The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club Worldwide, Cancer Support Community is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support, education and hope to people affected by cancer.

Patient Advocate Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability relative to their diagnosis of life threatening or debilitating diseases.

The oldest survivor-led organization in the country, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship is a nonprofit group that advocates quality cancer care for all Americans and provides tools to empower people affected by cancer to advocate for themselves.

At Amgen, we are delighted to see Dempsey’s dream of opening a cancer support center in his hometown of Lewiston come true. The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing opened its doors at Central Maine Medical Center in March of 2008.

When Dempsey invited Amgen to support a fundraiser to benefit the Dempsey Center, we were thrilled to reunite with him, support his center and further spread the word about Breakaway from Cancer.

The Dempsey Center and the Breakaway from Cancer partners’ programs and services complement each other. We all know, it takes a team to fight cancer!

Representatives of the Breakaway from Cancer partner organizations are in town for the Dempsey Challenge this weekend. We are hosting a Breakaway from Cancer booth at the Festival in the Park, at Simard-Payne Police Memorial Park.

The Breakaway from Cancer nonprofit partners are truly a team of problem solvers here to help you fight cancer, whether you are interested in prevention, facing a new diagnosis, caring for a loved one, or struggling with financial issues. Visit our booth at the Festival in the Park from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today, or visit www.breakawayfromcancer.com to learn more.

Amgen teams are also out in force at the Dempsey Challenge this weekend, walking, running and cycling. A team from our Cambridge, Mass., research facility entered into a friendly Dempsey Challenge fundraising competition with a team from our West Greenwich, R.I., manufacturing plant. We also have participants from our local sales team and our corporate headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Amgen also visited Edward Little High School on Friday, at the request of biology teacher Karen Boucher. When Boucher saw Amgen was sponsoring the Dempsey Challenge, she asked if an Amgen representative could present to her advanced placement biology classes while in town for the event. Senior scientist Linda Epstein, from Amgen’s Cambridge, Mass., research center, visited the school Friday, speaking on the science of biotechnology, future careers in science and conducting hands on experiments with the students.

At Amgen, we believe we have an important responsibility to inspire and prepare the next generation of scientists, so thanks for giving us the opportunity to inspire your students, Ms. Boucher!

Stuart Arbuckle is vice president and general manager of Amgen Oncology.