"Don't let yesterday take up too much of today."

Maddie Robertson

"You have to go into battle with the mindset that you are going to win."

Gary Smith

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A HUGE THANKS TO:

- To all my Rolls Royce colleagues and friends who donated $2,500 in less than a month!

- To Rolls Royce Corporation for matching that amount 100%

- And to all the remaining

donors who helped me reach the

required minimum :-)

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TEAM IN TRAINING (TNT)

• TNT is the fund raising arm of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
• I am training to participate in a 100 miles cycling ride in Honolulu on September 27th of this year.
• Leukemia, a malignant disease of the bone marrow and blood, causes more deaths than any other cancer in children and young adults under the age of 20.
• It is second only to lung cancer as a leading cancer related cause of death. It has a 5-yr relative survival rate of 51.2%. The rate varies depending on the type of leukemia.
• Lymphoma is a broad term encompassing a variety of cancers of the lymphatic system. e two main groups of lymphoma in humans are Hodgkin's Disease (characterized by the growth of Reed-Sternberg cells in the cancer) and the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas [NHL].
• NHL is the fifth most common cancer in males and females in the United States.

HONORED HEROES

Maddie Robertson

Maddie, pictured above on the right, is the Honolulu's Team's Honored Hero. Our Honored Heroes serve as our inspiration during the 5 months of training and during the endurance event. Maddie, 19, was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) in June 2008. APL is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common acute leukemia affecting adults. She is in remission but she is still receiving chemo. She enjoys spending time with friends and her family: her parents, Tina and Mike, and her three sisters. She likes sleeping in late (she's brilliant!) on the weekends and wants her team to know "they are running for those who can't, in the hope that someday they will." Her favorite movie is "Sandlot" and her favorite book is "My Sister's Keeper." Her favorite food is Sushi (a kindred spirit!!) Her role model is "All the little children fighting life-threatening illnesses."

The TEAM had the opportunity to meet Maddie during our Fall season TNT kick-off meeting and then again during the cycling team's first meeting. Just like in the picture, she has a perpetual smile and her disposition is very 'happy go-lucky.' :-) She is a graduate of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and she is attending IU in Bloomington. One would never guess she has gone through what she has in this last year. She explained to us that even though she is in remission, she is still taking chemotherapy until the end of the year to ensure the cancer does not return. She also said that her type of cancer is very, very rare--less than 5 cases in young adults in a year. Ten years ago her prognostic would have not been good. Now, it is :-)

Gary Smith

My second Hero is one of my racquetball friends, Gary Smith, pictured above with his granddaughter, Mylee-"This is what I have to live for." He has given me permission to share his journey in this blog, one that he is taking on with lots of courage, faith and humor. We both hope this sharing will serve to educate readers about NHL.

Gary was diagnosed with B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Stage 3 this past Good Friday. B-Cell lymphoma accounts for 80-90% of all NHL.

During the course of testing to assess the treatment protocol for NHL, a tumor was found in one of his kidneys: "lightning had struck you twice," his oncologist said. Gary wanted me to make sure to include that at this comment from the doctor, he replied "Maybe I should buy lottery." The doctor told Gary in his 40 years of practice this was a "first" for him. To which Gary replied, "Yeah, me too." Gary is currently awaiting the results of his biopsy. But the doctor said it is most likely cancer: a more aggressive type than lymphoma. At these news, Gary reacted in a grateful manner towards the lymphoma diagnosis. He was surprised at himself for being thankful for it. But without the extensive testing that took place, the kidney tumor would have never been found. Gary did tell me, though, that the tests on his bone marrow came back clean and all other health vitals are normal.

"I think you have a good hero in Maddie Robertson as leukemia is far worse, from what I can tell, than lymphoma. I was in the Marine Corps for 8 years. In the Corps, you knew who your foe was. With leukemia and lymphoma, you are fighting a foe who is stealthy and can go undetected for years then reappear for another attack. You always have to be on guard. It is good that Maddie and I are not alone. We have allies: relatives, friends, doctors, nurses, organizations like LLC that care and help us in our battle with support and prayers. "

UPDATES:

May 19th

Well, Gary got his biopsy results back and, as suspected, they came back positive for cancer :-(. His doctors are waiting for results from pathology to confirm the cancer is only affecting the left side. His response to the biopsy findings: "You know, when everything comes easy, life is very boring. Everybody should have some adversity in their lives to strengthen their character and their resolve to overcome."

The tumor in his left kidney is big enough that the entire kidney needs to be removed immediately. The standard procedure is to remove the kidney using three incisions, one being in the navel region. However, due to a previous surgery for an unrelated condition, the removal will be more complicated and it will require a general surgeon to perform it. Once the kidney is removed, it will be a month before the doctors can remove the staples. After that, Gary will begin chemotherapy treatments for the lymphoma.

Gary continues to find the silver lining in this situation: "I am a bit of a celebrity among the oncologists at ST. Francis Hospital and I am getting recognition from the urologists as well, as I have a fairly rare cancer situation. Two separate, unrelated cancers developing at the same time. That is not the notoriety that I wanted. The only symptom I had was swelling of the lymph nodes on my neck [He was already Stage 3 at this point.] In that respect, had I not had lymphoma, I would surely die of kidney cancer. I would not put myself on a transplant list as there are so many others a lot younger than I that need a kidney to survive." I told him the celebrity is actually good for he will get lots of attention from several doctors from different specialties.

June 12th

Last Saturday, Gary invited his racquetball buddies to a really nice lunch at Bravo's. It was like a (temporary) farewell lunch 'cause he won't be able to play for about 4-6 months. Then, this last Tuesday we share the obligatory margarita dinner after we played racquetball to say 'see you later' for one last time.

Yesterday, Gary went into surgery to have his kidney removed. Prior to surgery he share this message with us: "Today will start the beginning of my battle with this disease. I am preparing to go to the hospital for surgery to remove my kidney because of cancer. This is the first of many battles I will have in my private war with this disease. When I recover enough from this surgery, I will have to confront my Lymphoma. That will start late July. What I am happy about are all the allies I have with me as I go into my battle with cancer. I just want to take the time to thank each of you for your support, thoughts, prayer and being there for me. God Bless." I'm very happy to report, all went well with his surgery :-) and he will be able to start taking visitors tomorrow.

June 15th

Gary was discharged today. The kidney was removed; but, unfortunately what was supposed to be a 3:45 hrs operation turned into an 8 hours one after the surgeons mistakenly cut into another organ. He told us he is a bit sore. He is also experiencing difficulty breathing because if he does, "I cough which then makes me jiggle like Jell-O which gives me pain." Gary will rest for one month (including a nice family vacation to FL at the end of the month) and then he will begin treatment for the lymphoma.

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To the Memory of:

Jane Darling from Scott Marr

Dedications:

Linda Sayer from husband Dave

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THE WHY

I'm a relatively new rider. I started riding in earnest (i.e. more than ~25 miles/week at Eagle Creek and recreationally at the Monon) at the beginning of this past April when I was invited to "tag along" with the TNT Lake Tahoe team. They are also riding 100 hilly miles this coming June. During and after the ride the head coach and 2 team members encouraged me to join TNT. They assured me I didn't have to be an experienced rider (looking good so far.) I got home and came to this website and learned about the statistics RE: leukemia and kids. That really motivated me to join. But then I learned about the high amount to raise and I got cold feet. My friends kept encouraging me and explained they have been doing this for a long time (one for ~7 yrs, the other 2 for ~5) and that it is doable. I got the papers on 5/4. I still had cold feet. On 5/5, at a Cinco de Mayo celebration I didn't even know I was going to attend until 20 minutes before, I found out about Gary's ordeal. I was very surprised he had reached stage 3 with absolutely no symptoms. The whole thing was very eerie because when I received the paperwork, I had told my Mom that I didn't know anyone (I had not played racquetball in a month, so I was not aware of the latest news) battling a blood cancer that I could relate to. I faxed in the paperwork on the 6th. That same day, Gary told him it will be fine to use this blog to educate others about NHL.

My training log can be found by clicking on:

TRAINING LOG

Check back often for updates and thanks for visiting! :-)

trainforacure.carolnin@gmail.com