After Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer in 2010, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was established. It has raised more than $800,000 since its inception, and this week they presented another big donation.

The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston received $100,000, the second installment in a commitment to fund gastroesophageal cancer research. Dr. Jaffer A. Ajani, who treated Dio at the Center, is spearheading the research. Watch a news story about the donation above.

Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, who was general doctor and serves as Medical Director of the Dio Cancer Fund, has been working closely with Dr. Ajani's team of researchers for the past four years.

He explains, "The best part of providing direct support to Dr. Ajani's research at the MD Anderson Cancer Center is that the seed money from the Dio Cancer Fund is leveraged to obtain multimillion dollar grants from the government to expand the research and, hopefully, put an end to this deadly disease."

Wendy Dio, the founder and president of the Fund, said that her husband's treatment at the cancer center in Houston, "gave him hope, and the most important thing for a cancer patient is to have hope."

The organization holds an annual awards gala, and the third annual event was held in March. It featured appearances by numerous rockers including Halestorm, Corey Taylor and Rob Halford. They also appeared on this year's Dio tribute album 'This Is Your Life,' which has sold over 80,000 copies and helped raise additional money for the Dio Cancer Fund.

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