WAYNE'S OTHER LEGACY COWBOYS, CANCER SURVIVORS ALL HEROES AT ODYSSEY BALL.

Byline: Mark Kellam Valley News Writer

When her friend was successfully treated for melanoma cancer four years ago, Encino resident Shirley Lipstone knew she wanted to support the place where he had been treated - the John Wayne Cancer Institute.

She's now president of the institute's auxiliary and heading up its 21st Annual Odyssey Ball, set for Saturday, April 8, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

This year's theme will be ``Our Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.''

Lipstone, 45, recalls when Mark Winkler, her friend since childhood, was diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Winkler, the father of five small children, was living in Washington D.C. at the time and commuted to the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica twice a month for treatments.

The melanoma was successfully treated by Dr. Don Morton at the institute, and Winkler then received medication that's designed to keep the melanoma from returning. Winkler now lives in Denver and is cancer-free, Lipstone said.

Each year at the ball, a cancer survivor is honored. Last year, Peggy Maddox of Orange County was recognized. She is a 30-year survivor of melanoma cancer. In 2004, Lisa Bronson of Studio City was honored. She had been successfully treated at the institute for breast cancer a few years earlier.

Some celebrities will also be honored. Dean Smith, an actor who was in several movies with John Wayne, will receive the Special Service Award. In 2002, he created the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo in Graham, Texas, which benefited the American Cancer Society. Former first lady Nancy Reagan, who with her husband had a decades-long friendship with John Wayne, will receive the first-ever ``True Grit'' Award.

For more information about the Odyssey Ball, including ticket information, call [phone] or visit www.jwci.org

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Shirley Lipstone is president of the auxiliary of the John Wayne Cancer Institute.