“If you are going through hell, keep going.”

Sir Winston Churchill stated this during World War II. He also said, “Never, never, never give up.” I liked these quotes so much that I printed them out and posted them on the wall of my father’s hospital room back in October 2011. They seemed appropriate. My father was most certainly going through hell, again, and I am sure that he had some admiration for Churchill after years of watching the History Channel.

On December 29th, 2011, my father lost the war to non-hodgkins lymphoma.

My Dad was the strongest man that I have ever known, both mentally and physically. I choose to remember him not from his final days here on earth, but from his glory days. The years he spent lifting weights for competition and running miles around our development. It is my father who has blessed me genetically with strong legs to run, and raised me with a strong mind to never give up.

I will be running my first race, the ING NYC Marathon, on November 4th, 2012, in memory of my father. May any discomfort that I experience in preparation for, and during, those 26.2 miles ease the pain of those stricken with my father's disease.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team in Training and help advance the research on blood cancers and cures. I’m participating as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

Donations support research that helps develop new treatments for blood cancer, which in turn help a wide variety of cancer patients. Donations also go to patient services.

*$50 will register 1 person to be a bone marrow donor.

*$75 will provide HLA (bone marrow) typing for a family member of a patient with leukemia.

*$100 will pay for the cost of 4 patients' chemotherapy drug prescription co-payments.

*$300 will train 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed patients.

*$1000 allows patients to meet with health care specialists to design and discuss their diesease, treatment plan, and prepare them with the info they will need during the treatment process.

$2000 provides patients with a one month supply of Gleevec, a life-saving treatment developed with LLS funding.

Thank you and God Bless!