John Wayne’s children keep his namesake Cancer Institute alive

John Wayne’s children are keeping his cancer foundation and memory alive.

They took part in a John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary fundraiser at the Montage Beverly Hills on Wednesday.

The foundation has a program called Block the Blaze that teaches junior lifeguards up and down the coast about skin cancer.

Junior Lifeguards in Silver Strand and other beaches are given John Wayne hats and sunscreen during the summer sessions.

Ethan Wayne said they have reached 500,000 kids.

“With skin cancer it is cumulative, so if you can get the cancer information to the kids when they are young, hopefully they can understand how the sun works on the skin and avoid having them go to a surgeon later in life, so we started this thing called Block the Blaze,” said Wayne.

The event raised more than $300,000 for the John Wayne Cancer Institute.

They also honored Dr. Melanie Goldfarb, the Director of the Center for Endocrine Tumors and Disorders, and GritCycle for giving back.

KEYT 2019