At The Presidio Officers’ Club, Fighting The Cancer Battle

Friday’s Give Breast Cancer the Boot was the first event ever at the remade Presidio Officers’ Club, a space beautiful, fresh and traditional at the same time. The room was crowded with laughing, smiling people, all of whom whose lives had been altered by breast cancer. Doing away with that “random” is the goal of Esserman’s new project, studying 100,000 women for their breast characteristics, genetic makeup, family histories, lifestyles and more, in hopes of being able to predict the onset of cancer, its treatment and prevention. Later in the evening, addressing the gathering, Esserman’s resolve, “We are relentless,” sounded as a war cry. Visiting the room full of living birds and bunnies and reptiles who stay there while recovering from injuries was as much a treat to grown-up revelers as it would have been had they been escorting 5-year-olds. The chicken, once moved from a previous perch, had to be joined by her companion, because she was “lonesome for the duck,” said Nancy Ellis, longtime curator of science at the museum. Rec and Park director Phil Ginsburg, strolling around in checked bow tie, seemed oblivious to hanky-panky taking place on his turf.