Inspired By
Friends Unite to
Fight Cancer NEWPORT BEACH BUSINESSMAN KEN KETNER TALKS ABOUT HIS SUPPORT OF CANCER RESEARCH THROUGH HIS FRIEND FRANK DI BELLA
ARTICLE RANDY HARDING
D
efining moments in one’s life can come at any time. For Ken Ketner, a long-time Newport Beach resident and businessman, his
defining moment began years ago when he was a young child. “I suffered a debilitating bone disease and my parents had limited resources, so they turned to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles for help. The care I got was beyond what words could describe,” Ketner says. Ketner was named Easter Seal Child of the Year and became a spokesman for the organization at a very young age. He recalls that
Charlotte and Robert Stone (City of Hope President/CEO), His Excellency Milan Panic and Alexandra Novak
was his first effort trying to give something back for the kindness that was shown to him in a time of need. It was in the late 1990s when Ketner met Frank Di Bella, an accomplished CPA. Di Bella had lost his kidney to cancer in 1994. “I was impressed with Frank’s personal passion for helping others and especially his commitment to the Muscular Dystrophy Association,” Ketner says. “He organized a special event every year that helped raise money for the nonprofit for more than 20 years.” In 2011, Di Bella faced a life-threatening battle. His cancer had returned with a vengeance. Given a diagnosis of only a few months to live by local doctors, Frank turned to the City of Hope because of their experience in developing powerful cancer treatments that saves lives. That decision saved his life, and Di Bella’s passion for helping others was refocused. That resulted in the founding of the “Let’s be Frank about Cancer” fundraiser, and, with the help of friends like Ketner, has raised more than $4 million for the City of Hope. When Frank asked for my help, it was an easy yes," says Ketner, whose wife Cheri, a successful realtor in Newport Beach, also became a willing "Let's Be Frank About Cancer" committee member.
“When Frank asked for my help, it was an easy yes,” says Ken Ketner, whose wife Cheri, a successful realtor in Newport Beach, also became a willing “Let’s Be Frank About Cancer” committee member. 24
Newport Beach Lifestyle | May 2017
Ken Ketner, Frank Di Bella Committee holding gigantic check showing the benefit's $691,931 proceeds to Dr. Sumanta Pal and his cancer research at City of Hope