For many families affected by neuroendocrine cancer, supporting research becomes a deeply personal mission. For Wayne Firsty and his children, Shay and Alana, that commitment has grown into a shared family effort to advance neuroendocrine cancer research and honor the memory of his wife and their mother Julie Seltzer Firsty.
The family’s involvement began in 2009, when they started participating in the Moonlight Walk in Palo Alto. While the walk is organized independently, Wayne saw it as an opportunity to bring people together and raise funds for neuroendocrine cancer research through the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF).
After Julie died from lung neuroendocrine cancer in 2014, Wayne, Shay, and Alana continued the tradition in her memory. Over the years, friends and family have joined them at the walk, while many others have supported from across the country and around the world with gifts inspired by the family’s efforts.
As Shay and Alana have grown and pursued opportunities in different locations, the family has at times walked apart from one another, but always with the same purpose and message of hope. Year after year, Wayne has reached out to his community, and that community has responded with remarkable generosity.
This year, their collective support has reached an important milestone. Together, the Firsty and extended Seltzer families are sponsoring a NETRF Mentored Research Award focused on lung neuroendocrine cancer.
Recently, Wayne and Shay had the opportunity to see the impact of that support firsthand.
Visiting the Scientists Advancing the Research
Last month, Wayne and Shay traveled to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to meet the researchers whose work their fundraising is helping to support. Wayne’s daughter Alana, who is studying abroad this year, was unable to join the visit but remains deeply connected to the family’s ongoing commitment to honoring her mother’s memory and advancing research.
At the lab, Wayne and Shay met with Dr. Hui Yu, whose research project is sponsored by the Firsty family and the extended Seltzer family in memory of Julie. They were also joined by Dr. Dan Merrick, a longtime researcher studying lung neuroendocrine disease, and Dr. Anna Greene, Chief Scientific Officer at NETRF.
The visit included a tour of the laboratory and a discussion of the research underway to better understand a rare lung condition called Diffuse Idiopathic Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia (DIPNECH).
For Wayne and Shay, seeing the research environment and speaking directly with the scientists made the connection between community fundraising and scientific discovery incredibly real.
After returning home, Wayne shared the experience with the community that has supported the family’s efforts over the years.
“Last month, Shay and I went to the University of Colorado Medical Center to meet the research doctors who were awarded the sponsorship grant to focus on neuroendocrine tumors in the lung area.
Over the next two years, Dr. Yu and Dr. Merrick will do their best to help get us one step closer to a cure for this horrible disease that befell Julie.”
Advancing Understanding of DIPNECH
The research project supported by the Firsty family focuses on understanding the molecular and genetic drivers of Diffuse Idiopathic Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia (DIPNECH).
DIPNECH is a rare lung condition in which abnormal neuroendocrine cells spread throughout the small airways. In some patients, these abnormal cells can eventually develop into lung neuroendocrine tumors.
Dr. Yu’s team is studying DNA from patients with DIPNECH to better understand the disease at the molecular level. Their research has already identified several gene mutations that may drive the development of DIPNECH and its progression toward neuroendocrine tumors in the lung.
The next phase of the project will examine how these mutations alter cell behavior and the biological pathways involved. Using advanced laboratory tools, the research team will also look for drugs that could specifically target the abnormal pathways they have identified. The goal is to identify opportunities for earlier intervention and more precise treatments.
This work builds on earlier NETRF-funded research led by Dr. Dan Merrick, who assembled one of the largest cohorts of patients with DIPNECH and identified genetic mutations distinct from those typically found in lung neuroendocrine tumors. His findings have helped clarify DIPNECH as a true early-stage condition and may lead to new strategies for intervention before cancer develops.
Together, these studies represent an important step toward understanding how lung neuroendocrine cancers develop and how they might be detected and treated earlier.
A Community That Makes Research Possible
For Wayne, the lab visit was also a powerful reminder of the role the community has played in making this research possible.
For years, friends, family, and supporters have responded to Wayne’s outreach and joined the family’s efforts to raise funds for neuroendocrine cancer research. That shared commitment has helped transform a family’s mission into meaningful scientific progress.
Wayne expressed deep gratitude to the community that has stood with his family throughout this journey.
“We are VERY GRATEFUL to you for sponsoring us on the Palo Alto Moonlight Walk to raise money for NETRF.
What was once a goal is now a REALITY.”
He also made it clear that the family’s commitment continues.
“Thank you, thank you… and yes, we will still continue doing the Moonlight Walk this year and next year and …”
Together, Wayne, Shay, and Alana continue to carry forward Julie’s legacy, supported by a community that believes in the power of research to change lives.
From a walk under the moonlight in Palo Alto to the laboratories where scientists are uncovering new discoveries, the Firsty family and their supporters are helping move neuroendocrine cancer research forward.
One step at a time.
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Interested in fundraising for neuroendocrine cancer research? NETRF is here to help. Visit our community fundraising page to learn more.