A few years after his mother died of ovarian cancer in 2001, a Silicon Valley millionaire named Don Listwin decided it was time for a radical new assault on cancer.
The problem, as the former Cisco Systems Inc. executive saw it, wasn't a lack of money, since the U.S. already spends roughly $10 billion a year on cancer research. Instead, Mr. Listwin began to think that the most promising way to beat cancer -- using technology to detect early tumor cells before they spread -- was languishing from neglect.
Two years ago, he established the Canary Foundation to begin an industrial-style attack on the thorny problem of early cancer detection.
Echoing the work of titans such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, millionaires like Mr. Listwin, 47 years old, are adding to a growing movement among wealthy entrepreneurs to give away their money while they're still relatively young. [ie "spending down") Many are focusing on medical causes that arise from their personal experience.
[Excerpt of an article by David P. Hamilton The Wall Street Journal]
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