On February 24, the American Cancer Society honored renowned breast cancer surgeon Dr. Alexandra Heerdt and Today Show host Ann Curry for their commitment to the fight against cancer. The annual Mother of the Year luncheon was held at The Plaza hotel.

“The title Mother of the Year is one the American Cancer Society takes very seriously,” said Maureen Fitzgerald, Regional Vice President, Manhattan, American Cancer Society. “And there are no two women more deserving of this honor this year than Ann Currt and Dr. Heerdt. Not only are they both dedicated, loving mothers, but they are devoting to saving and changing the lives of others through various humanitarian efforts.”

Ann and Dr. Heerdt were honored by Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Kathy Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Cindy Adams, Cynthia Lufkin, Matilda and Mario Cuomo, Evelyn Lauder, Charlotte Ford, Heather Randall and many more.

Proceeds from the luncheon will help support American Cancer Society programs and services for cancer patients and their families, including Hope Lodge New York City, which provides free temporary lodging for cancer patients and their caregivers while undergoing treatments, and Reach to Recovery, a 30-year program which pairs trained volunteer breast cancer survivors with newly diagnosed cancer patients to help them cope with their diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

Ann Curry is the news anchor of the “Today” Show, America’s number one morning news program, which she joined in 1997. She is also the anchor of award-winning newsmagazine “Dateline NBC”, and she regularly substitute anchors for “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.”

Curry has distinguished herself in global humanitarian reporting and has traveled frequently to investigate under-reported stories of crises in remote areas of the world, including the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Serbia, and Kosovo. Curry reported live from Ground Zero over the first two weeks following the attacks of September 11. She was posted for a number of assignments covering many aspects of the war in Iraq from its beginning as well as the recent Israel-Lebanon war. Curry traveled in 2005 with First Lady Laura Bush throughout Africa to examine the continent’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, women's rights and education. She was the first network news anchor to report from inside the tsunami zone in Southeast Asia, filing reports from Sri Lanka.

Alexandra S. Heerdt, MD, FACS, is an associate attending surgeon at Memorial-Sloan Kettering (“MSK”). Her name regularly appears on the “Best Doctors in New York” issue of New York magazine, and she has also been named one of the best doctors in the US.

As important as her academic credentials and professional accomplishments are, however, her patients would resoundingly add that any discussion of her expertise must include her unique interpersonal skills. She has a legendary way of capably and comfortably helping patients not only learn about their disease, but also manage the emotional aspects of their cancer risks, illness and recovery.

Dr. Heerdt specializes in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of all forms of breast cancer, most particularly for women who are at increased risk. She has been deeply involved in research to determine the most appropriate screening modalities for women with hereditary or familial breast cancer.

Past recipients of American Cancer Society’s Mother of the Year have included: Libby Pataki, Vera Wang, Dana Reeve, Susan Bloomberg and Carolina Herrera. For more information on Mother of the Year or to learn about other American Cancer Society programs, please call 1-800-ACS-2345 or log onto www.cancer.org.