Luxury bags are thrown onto plush couches in Susan Gutfreund’s sitting room overlooking Central Park: mostly Chanels and a random Hermes. They reserve seats for the fashion show marking the annual “Collaborating for a Cure Ladies Lunch” to benefit the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. This year designer Dennis Basso, who surely dressed many women in the room over the years with his sable coats, mink shrugs, and three quarter length ermine jackets, attended to oversee his models. On a cold May midday, a fur would have been nice, and unobjectionable in these environs, even if politically incorrect everywhere else. A ban on trading in fur may even be made law with heavy penalties. But that was not the point. The point is cancer, and it is still killing us.

After a brief intro by CNN’s Don Lemon, Dr. Waxman took center place to explain the latest accomplishments of his research foundation, reminding everyone, while we are all ageing beautifully, the older we get, the more vulnerable we are to the disease. I am sure no one wants to hear that news, but it feels worse because as life is extended, that means the greater possibility of illness for our kids. That hits home.

Dr. Waxman did not get into the science, but invited everyone to a town hall meeting for June 3 where scientists will discuss the latest advances in eradicating cancer and helping us all to live longer. Aging beautifully represents hope. Guests included Jean Shafiroff, Denise Wohl, and women who would make good use of the book in the swag bag, Dr. Andrew Jacono’s The Park Avenue Face. While the “f” word was not deployed, I did manage a shot of one fur-free coat dress—oops, that’s a sable trim.