In Memory of Monica E. Warner
May 16, 1937 - August 7, 2009
It is with great sadness that I share news of the passing of Monica Warner, a well-known and
beloved leader of the carcinoid and neuroendocrine support group community. I knew her well and
we exchanged Christmas cards and family news regularly.
Tributes have been pouring into community forums such as the
ACOR carcinoid group (membership required).
Monica was not a patient herself - she
was a nutritionist. But she worked on behalf of the whole community and served the patients,
family caregivers and physicians. Her husband Dr Richard Warner is perhaps one
of the best known NETs specialists in the world, and the extraordinary website they created for the Carcinoid Cancer
Foundation is the best and most popular NETs resource in the world today. It is
consistently ranked #1 for 'carcinoid' in most search engines.
One of Monica's special talents was helping other NETs patient advocates get support groups started.
In a photograph taken at the NETs Patient Symposium at Mount Sinai Hospital in 2008 (photo on the right),
Monica is shown receiving a plaque on behalf of the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation (CCF). Her husband Dr Warner
appears on the left,
applauding her along with Maryann Wahmann, Vice President of Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Network, and Stanley
Pressment JD, the Foundation's attorney and a CCF board member. The plaque reads: "Presented to the
Carcinoid Cancer Foundation in recognition of their 40 years of service, for their assistance in
planning, backing and coordination of support groups for patients of carcinoid and neuroendocrine tumors
in the United States. As a result of your vision, these groups have become the model for other groups
throughout the world. Presented by the Metro New York Carcinoid Support Group, April 13, 2008".
Indeed I was encouraged by Monica to start a NETs support group in Singapore, to assist
patients in Asia Pacific. She sent me letter-packs of materials to get things started, and was
regularly in phone and email contact. Actually, none of this would have come to pass if over several years
Monica had not introduced me to other group leaders such as Susan Anderson, Bob and Maryann Wahmann,
Jim Weiveris, Kari Brendtro, Kathy Arbanasin, Beatrix Lehming and Maureen Coleman, each of whom
has inspired me so much.
Monica was also an avid photographer and her
photo collection on Flickr provides an invaluable record of the past many
years of support group meetings in USA and Europe. She was omnipresent at these events with her cameras,
and when my colleague Jonathon Slon and I were shooting video, we often worked in tandem.
Along with the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation website, and the video recordings that she commisssioned for
CCF, Monica's photo collection is one of the great legacies of this extraordinary woman.
The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation has provided the following tribute, which chronicles Monica's
contributions in more detail. I encourage you
to
make a donation so that Monica's work can continue under the stewardship of the
CCF's recently appointed CEO Sharon Devereaux.
- William Claxton, co-founder
of Carcinoid & Neuroendocrine Society of Singapore
It is with profound sorrow that The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation Board of Directors and staff
announce the death of Monica Warner, a driving force behind the foundation for over 20 years.
Mrs. Warner died unexpectedly on Friday, August 7, 2009. We extend our deepest sympathy to
Richard R.P. Warner, M.D., and his family on the passing of his beloved wife, Monica.
Since 1987 Mrs. Warner served as CCF's Director of Development and Research Coordinator. She
was instrumental in helping bring about the carcinoid cancer/neuroendocrine tumor support groups
throughout the United States and was extremely proud to see the number of support groups grow
from the first support group in 1996 to over 40 groups today.
Mrs. Warner was also solely responsible for The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation's
outstanding website. She created the site in 1996 and it grew under her leadership to serving individuals from 119
countries worldwide. Nearly 1,000,000 people have visited the CCF website since its inception.
In addition to her work with the foundation, Mrs. Warner was a registered dietitian, certified
dietitian-nutritionist, and certified diabetes educator, with a Master of Science degree in Nutrition
and Public Health from Columbia University in New York City and a Bachelor of Science degree in Food
and Nutrition from Teachers College in Stockholm, Sweden. She had a private nutrition practice;
worked at St. Agnes Hospital in White Plains from 1982 to 1987, where she was the Nutrition Education
Coordinator; and served as an adjunct professor in nutrition at Westchester Community College. Earlier
in her career she was a nutritionist for the Dairy Council of Metropolitan New York, a research
nutritionist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, and a clinical dietitian for the
Swedish Consul General in New York City.
A Renaissance woman, Mrs. Warner had a wide variety of interests ranging from speaking four languages
to a passion for both photography and flying. She earned her private pilot's license in 1988 and flew
several types of planes, including a stunt plane. Last summer, she participated in a National Geographic
photography program in France, where her photographs were selected as among the best by trip participants.
Her photographs have long been seen on the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation website, particularly from conferences
throughout the United States and in Europe.
Mrs. Warner is survived by her husband Richard R.P. Warner, M.D., Professor of Medicine at The Mt. Sinai
School of Medicine in New York and Medical Director of The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation; daughter Nancy Coste,
her husband and their two children of Brussels, Belgium; son Charles Falker, his wife and their two children
of New Rochelle, New York; Dr. Warner's four children, Dr. Jon J.P. Warner, his wife and their four children
of Weston, Massachusetts; Keith R.P. Warner and his daughter of Denver, Colorado; Douglas C.P. Warner, his
wife and two children of Portland, Oregon; Lynn S. Unipan, her husband and their two children of Ambler,
Pennsylvania; and longtime household member Elisabeth Herche. Mrs. Warner also has many brothers and sisters
and extended family living in Sweden.
In lieu of flowers, it was Mrs. Warner's wish to enable the continuation of the many activities of The Carcinoid
Cancer Foundation and donations can be made in her memory to The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, 333 Mamaroneck
Avenue, # 492, White Plains, NY 10605 or online at https://www.carcinoid.org (click on the Donate Now button on
the home page) with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express, or by calling 888-722-3132, Tuesday through Thursday,
10 am to 4 pm, Eastern Standard Time. Services for Mrs. Warner will be held privately.
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