ACRO Establishes Scholarship to Support Pre-Med Students Pursuing Radiation Oncology

The American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) is proud to announce the establishment of the Helen Barr Memorial Scholarship through ACRO’s Dr. Luther Brady Foundation.  

“My wife, Linda, and I are setting up this scholarship in the name of Linda’s Mom, Helen Barr, who passed away years ago from breast cancer,” said Fraser Cobbe, ACRO Executive Director.   

The scholarship will annually support pre-med students as they begin their career path in radiation oncology. It will provide $500 to a student who has submitted research approved for presentation at the ACRO Annual Meeting.   

Helen’s breast cancer journey spanned more than 40 years. In her early 40s, she had a radical mastectomy of her left breast that left a large scar across half of her chest and a cavity under her arm where her lymph nodes had been. She received radiation therapy but not chemotherapy.  

In 1999, Helen was diagnosed with a tumor in her right breast and had a second mastectomy, but did not get radiation or chemo. Her final diagnosis was 10 years later - stage 4 metastatic. Helen opted for hormone blocker therapy, which gave her another year.  

“She was the one we shopped with and talked to on the phone. It was devastating when she got sick the last time and ultimately died at age 83,” said Linda Cobbe. “Mom had a giving spirit, so she would be delighted to know that she is still giving through this scholarship in her name and helping a young person become a radiation oncologist.”  

To illustrate how giving Helen was, she used her first experience with breast cancer to help other breast cancer patients through the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery® Program. Helen would often pack up her "kit" and visit someone in the hospital to comfort them and give them advice and hope. In later years, she volunteered at the medical center near her home in Venice, FL, as well as at her church food pantry.  

“Mom also was resourceful. After her first mastectomy, she sewed elastic bands into her bras and swim suits to hold her prosthesis before you could buy ones manufactured for breast cancer survivors,” shared Linda.  

The inaugural Helen Barr Memorial Scholarship is being awarded to Mitchell Finkelstein, a student at Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. He will be presenting an abstract/poster at The Radiation Oncology Summit: ACRO 2025 on Novel Radiation Therapy Strategies in Oligometastatic Disease: Building Upon a Legacy of Homebody Irradiation.  

“Our motivation in creating the scholarship is to help in some small way develop future clinicians who will passionately care for other patients and families,” said Fraser.

The ACRO Scholarship Committee will determine the award annually based on abstracts submitted for the Annual Meeting by pre-med students. Learn more here

 Support Future Radiation Oncologists: If you would like to support students pursuing radiation oncology through the Helen Barr Memorial Scholarship, click here to make a donation through the Dr. Luther Brady Foundation. Please include "Helen Barr Memorial Scholarship" in your donor comments.

Please email ACRO Executive Director Fraser Cobbe if you have questions about this scholarship or are interested in creating your own scholarship program to support students pursuing radiation oncology.