Lustgarten Foundation Rock & Roll Bash raises more than $2 million for pancreatic cancer research

A holiday fundraiser for the Bethpage-based Lustgarten Foundation raised more than $2 million for pancreatic cancer research at a Manhattan event Wednesday night, breaking previous fundraising levels, organizers reported Thursday.

The 14th annual Holiday Rock & Roll Bash was sponsored by Cablevision Systems Corp., The Madison Square Garden Co. and AMC Networks.

More than 1,100 people attended the event at the Hard Rock Cafe. All of the $2,060,000 raised will go directly to research, foundation officials said.

"The annual Holiday Rock & Roll Bash is a beloved tradition for an important cause: raising critical funds for more research to beat the most lethal of all cancers," Kerri Kaplan, executive director and chief operating officer of the Lustgarten Foundation said in a news release. The event has raised nearly $19 million since it was started in 2001, officials said.

The foundation was established in 1998 in honor of former Cablevision vice chairman and Madison Square Garden chairman Marc Lustgarten before he died from pancreatic cancer. Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan and chief executive James Dolan helped create the organization before pancreatic cancer research efforts attracted major funding. Since then, it has contributed more than $90 million to the cause. Cablevision owns Newsday.

This year's annual Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk, held in October at Jones Beach in Wantagh, also broke fundraising records, raising $1 million and attracting more than 8,000 participants.