ADELE R. DECOF was a woman of strength, compassion, and wisdom.  Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, she fought the disease with grace, dignity and enormous courage for eight years.  She undertook new experimental treatments with certainty of purpose, resolve, and good humor.  And in her long battle, her partner and advocate was her husband Leonard.

 

Encountering many common obstacles and frustrations in the treatment process, Adele and Leonard decided to confront these problems head-on.  The aim was to advance the state of cancer treatment; to simplify and de-mystify the process, improve the quality of care, and thus the quality of life for cancer patients.  They knew that improvements in treatments would also lead to faster cures.

 

Two weeks before Adele's death the ADELE R. DECOF FOUNDATION was founded.  With her blessing, Leonard and their children Andrea and Mark continued the work Adele had started, raising funds to bring top-level cancer care and treatment to Rhode Island hospitals.

 

Adele was one of 40,000 American women who died of breast cancer in 2000.  But thanks to her vision, there is new hope for cancer patients everywhere.  The Foundation now carries on the mission begun so personally by Adele, and is dedicated to her spirit of love and caring.