Dr. Annette Khaled was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the money will be used to fund her work on finding ways to treat metastatic cancer cells. When those cells begin to spread within breast cancer patients, Khaled said, right now treatment options are limited. “When a woman is diagnosed, she’s told she has breast cancer and it’s a really terrifying situation,” Khaled said. “Current treatment often is ineffective because these spreading cells are hard to find, and hard to kill.” Khaled, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, is now working in collaboration with Florida Hospital on her research. “This year, more than 230,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and more needs to be done to help them,” said Lori Boardman, the medical director of Florida Hospital for Women, adding that their collaboration includes providing tissue samples from their breast cancer patients to Khaled. “Florida hospital is very proud now to be able to support Dr. Khaled and to provide her with tissue samples,” Boardman said. Now they’re going a step further, and Florida Hospital has a new collaboration – with the AutoNation Cure Bowl, the NCAA football game that will be played at the Orlando Citrus Bowl on Dec. 19. On Tuesday, Khaled and Boardman joined Mayor Buddy Dyer at the Cirtus Bowl to announce that proceeds from the game will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundaton, and Florida Hospital will become the presenting sponsor of the game, and will host a “Cure Village” at the stadium as a hub where fans can get mammograms and other screenings on game day. “In Orlando alone, over 50 percent of women are not getting their mammograms,” Boardman said. “We hope this game will inspire fans to get mammograms and to encourage friends and family to do the same.” Proceeds from the Cure Bowl will also help fund grants provided by the foundation, such as the one Khaled’s research is benefitting from, to allow researchers to continue their work toward a cure for breast cancer. “We are supporting research that impacts women in our community and beyond,” Boardman said. “With the help of Florida Hospital, we’re going to try to identify the patients who will benefit from this treatment,” Khaled said, adding that the Cure Bowl collaboration will also be a great help, because “You can enjoy a day of football, and also contribute help to breast cancer research.” Dyer said this issue hits home for him and so many other Orlando residents. “My mother is a breast cancer survivor,” the mayor said. “That’s why I am proud that we are hosting the Cure Bowl.” “I’m thrilled that Florida Hospital has joined with AutoNation to host the Cure Bowl,” said Myra Biblowit, the president of the foundation. She added, “We are very transparent. We have one mission and one mission only – to put breast cancer out of business.” Alan Gooch, the executive director of the Orlando Sports Foundation, noted that AutoNation Cure Bowl’s mission has been to bring teams together to find a cure for cancer. “It’s so vital to have Florida Hospital be a part of the Cure Bowl,” he said. “We’re 180 days away. We can’t wait to make it happen.”