I'm running a half marathon for Team in Training, and your part is easy. All you need to do is add your support. You can sleep in on the morning of June 2 knowing you've already done your part to fight cancer while I get up at dawn to run. It's one of the best deals out there!

LLS does some amazing work, and every dollar counts. Your contributions help patients and their families receive needed support and treatments, and they help fund research into new treatments as we push toward finding a cure. Here is how your support is helping:

$5,000 provides one patient with financial support for the cost of insurance co-payments and/or insurance premium costs for prescription drugs.　

$1000 supports one week of basic blood cancer research at a facility like UCSF, Stanford, or UC Berkeley.

$450 provides general financial assistance to 3 blood cancer patients with significant financial need.

$200 funds one Family Support Group meeting of 9-15 participants; the SF Bay Area chapter has 9 monthly support group meetings.

$150 allows 5 patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

$120 provides 3 patients access to an information teleconference.

$52 is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

$25 covers a needed prescription co-payment.

All of my supporters rock!

To help raise money for the fight against blood cancer, I'm selling handmade earrings! There are several designs available, and I can make them in different colors on request. 100% of your donation goes to LLS.

http://kristenfriend.com/handmade-gifts/

Hi, I'm Kristen Friend and I am proud to be participating in Team in Training. I am running to help fight cancer.

Most of us know someone who has been affected by cancer, and every dollar that goes to research and support for patients and their families is important.

I will participate in the San Diego half marathon 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. With your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients, their families and everyone affected by cancer.

Can we raise $200 per mile to fight cancer? With your help, I think we can!

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures. Thank you!

Last week, I received the Spirit Award (which surprised me considering I was running a track practice... the training I find the most challenging). We ran four mile splits, one at race pace, one a little faster, one faster still and then back to race pace. In the process, I discovered a new running partner who helped me keep pace and pushed me to run a little faster than I thought I could on the second and third splits. (Thank you Sean!)

As we were talking, I asked about his experience with Team in Training. He said something to me that really embodies what this season has shown me so far. He said, Team in Training really makes you feel good about people - all people. And he's right. Our teammates are amazing, the contributions from the community are amazing and the fact that so many people are willing to give in time and money so willingly is humbling. Thank you everyone! Here's me looking silly (post-run) in my spirited hat...

One of my favorite places in Marin is the Headlands, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The views are incredible and the climbs are hard (but rewarding). On my third week of training, we ran at the Headlands, starting at Rodeo beach on a really perfect morning. It was a 9 mile run with some tough inclines, which we dedicated to our honored teammate, Larry Russo.

Here is a thank you note written for the team and its supporters from Larry:

Hello Everyone!!

I am a cancer survivor (Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma). In 1993, I noticed a lump under my chin the size of a peach pit, when to my PCP and with only “Self-Love” reasons I asked to have the lump removed. The lump was sent to pathology and the biopsy results showed predominant Hodgkin’s disease. Well, that was a big surprise to both of us, I then was seen by several doctors at UCSF Medical Center and Stanford Medical Center, some want to treat and some had the wait and see (due to I had no symptoms) I chose to wait and see, which meant to see Dr. Newman every six months and to have a Cat Scan and MRI every year. This was my course of treatment from 1993 to 2004. In 2004, we decided to start a treatment sessions with a drug called Rituxan (which was funded by LLS with the money raised by TNT events) at CPMC. The treatments were for once a week for 4 weeks and then one session every three months, which finished this August 2007 and during this time I was upgraded to have a PET/CAT scan very six months. I am very grateful that I stayed in good health during my treatments and that I am still in good health due to the wonderful present called Rituxan. I know I am in remission, which means I take one day at a time, see my doc every six months and continue to have the wonderful sense of humor and love for life.

In November at my six month visit, they found another lump. After scans and biopsy, I started Rituxan again—same regiment as last time. When you hear this, I will have finished my first (and hopefully only) round of treatments. We are waiting now for another scan that will determine if this is it—or another round is needed.

I plan to be with you this season, until then, I want to “Thank, All of YOU” for sharing your love and time to train and raise funds for research and living saving cures.

Please take full advantage of everything the program has to offer and I’m confident you’ll find it to be an unforgettable and rewarding experience.

So let me again say Thank You, Congratulations for signing up!

Cheers,

Larry Russo

Tough climbs, but at least the view isn't bad!

Thank you everyone for your support!

Every Saturday, we dedicate our training run to an honored teammate or personal hero. On my first run of the season, a beautiful 5.5 miles through Golden Gate Park, we ran in honor of Ana. Ana's is the first of the stories that I've heard since joining Team in Training that really brought the cause home for me - that put a face on the how incredibly important all of our work is to so many people.

Here is Ana's story:

Ana De Los Santos was born and raised in Bushwick, New York City. After graduating from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Ana returned to New York City and became a schoolteacher. She has since become a successful principal at a middle school in New York City. Ana is a loving wife, daughter, sister, and aunt.

In October 2009 Ana was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, at age 32. She relapsed in October 2011 and had 3 RDHAP treatments followed by an autologous stem cell transplant in the spring of 2012.

Unfortunately, her Lymphoma had returned in June. She underwent a cord blood stem cell transplant on December 27, 2012 and she remains hopeful. She and her husband have conveyed how grateful they are to this running group and their amazing support. Ana doesn’t give up and neither should we; she hopes to someday be able to join us in a race! Thank you all for your love and support!!