Is Pure Altruism Possible?

This is the discussion we were heading towards in class on Friday and this is the title of the article that I once read regarding the matter. In class we discussed how Epicurus was an egoist because even though he shared the hedonism pleasure is the good (the pursuit of pleasure as an ethical principle) he believed that gaining pleasure was only needed for the self-- the individual-- not the whole; hedonists on the contrary believed that pleasure must be gained through specific steps there you consider not only your well being but that of others--the hedonistic calculus. This is why when the discussion on Altruism began I was a little confused about what Epicurus was saying. Well, ,in reality I was a little concerned for him because he was so greatly confused. He believes that to be altruistic is to do the good for others in order to achieve happiness for your act. This, in my opinion, can not be altruism because not only is this a premeditated act but he is receiving some reward for preforming this action; happiness. It makes no sense to me how he's trying to pull of this very egoistic belief as altruism. I feel that he is making a mockery of the term which is defined as being: the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others!