WE ARE RELENTLESS FOR A CURE

The bad news…

• There is no known cure.
• Leukemia remains a leading cause of cancer related death in children.
• Leukemia and lymphoma are the leading fatal cancers in young men under 35.
• Every four minutes, someone is newly diagnosed with a blood cancer.
• Every ten minutes, another child or adult is expected to die from a blood-related cancer.
• 912,938 Americans are presently living with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease or myeloma.

The good news…

• In 1960, the five-year survival rate for children with the most common form of leukemia was just 4%.

Today, the five-year survival rate for children under 5 is 91.2%!

• A newly FDA approved drug, Gleevec, has been shown to normalize blood counts in nearly all patients

with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). As a result of the success of Gleevec, in 2007, the relative

five-year survival rate for CML patients is now at 95%.

• Hodgkin lymphoma is now considered one of the most curable forms of cancer, thanks to radiation,

chemotherapy or a combination of the two.

“What does a $25, $50 or $100 donation buy?”

A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information

on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.

A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found

and experiences can be shared among patients and family members.

A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their

search for cures.

$500 could provide patient aid to a person with Leukemia or a related cancer for a year.

A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide

patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their

health care team.

About Me and My Journey...

On April 3rd I’ll be walking the Race For The Roses ½ Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. For the next two months I’ll be walking all over Portland, increasing my miles each week so that I can ultimately walk the 13.1 miles on April 3rd on behalf of the many people who are fighting blood cancers. As long as my body can walk the miles and cross the finish line, I feel privileged to walk for those who can’t - and raise awareness and money for those who need it.

Team in Training is an endurance training program whose goal is to support, through fundraising and advocacy, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission to improve the quality of life for patients with leukemia and related blood cancers, aid in the search for a cure, improve public and professional education, and provide advocacy and community service. I am pretty particular about who I give money to – I need to know that those funds are going to the places they are promised. What I have found with Team in Training is that they have a great deal of integrity and honesty about where the money goes.

I found out about Team In Training from a fellow mom who had a daughter with a brain tumor. What moved me about her was that she was willing to step out of her own unthinkable situation and do this for people who were facing different challenges. As soon as I read her letter I was on board! The experiences I have had with Team in Training since have been amazing!

HONORED TEAMMATES

Through Team in Training I have met some pretty amazing people! I feel so blessed to know these folks as they have faced challenges that most of us cannot even imagine, with grace and strength. We consider them to be our “Honored Teammates.” They, along with many other adults and children, are fighting leukemia and other blood cancers. One honored teammate is Karin. Karin is married with three teenage children. She was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in April 2008. While Karin was undergoing chemotherapy she received help from LLS. When she found out about Team in Training she decided she wanted to be a part of it - 5 months later she completed her first marathon! She has completed 2 more events since then and, I am happy to say, she is currently training with us to complete yet another event in May. She says, “I think TNT helps me stay healthy and sane while I continue to live my life with cancer!”

I will be training, fundraising, and eventually racing in honor of Karin and for my brother who is recovering from a different form of cancer. If you would like me to honor or remember someone whose life has been affected by cancer, it would be my privilege to wear their name on race day. Just fill in their name on the enclosed donation form and mail or email it back to me!