Racing to Save Lives

My Father-In-Law, Hung Pham, passed away on January 30, 2004, at home, in bed, surrounded by his family. The first time I met Ba (dad in Vietnamese) was about seven years earlier. I'd recently started dating Jenny and we drove up from Southern California after Ba underwent a very rough round of chemotherapy. When we arrived he was at home, in bed, surrounded by the family. In those seven years Hung got to walk all three of his daughters down the aisle and become a grandfather as he went through countless rounds of treatment and procedures for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Ba is missed everyday and continues to serve as an inspiration to us all.

Terry Fujimoto was diagnosed with Lymphoma in April 2008 and is currently responding well to his third round of treatment. Terry is the father of a good friend of mine, Lisa. He and wife Joyce were also my first employers. Throughout high school, they opened their home up on many occasions as hosts for all types of projects. Aside from the doctors and my parents, the Fujimotos were the first people to learn about my diagnosis in August 1996. Throughout my ensuing two surgeries the Fujimotos were very supportive, and along with other friends and family, helped me through a very tough time. I am very fortunate to have now been cancer free for the past 13 years.

Last year Jenny joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training (TNT) program to honor her father and help raise money to support the fight against blood cancers. Watching her endless hours of training, listening to many of the stories the night before the race at a TNT dinner, and seeing all of the TNT athletes finish the race truly inspired me. To honor Hung and Terry, and all of those battling blood cancers, I have joined TNT and started training for the Lavaman Triathlon (March 28th, 2010) in Kona.

The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS focuses their support in the following areas: research, patient services, public and professional education, advocacy and community services. All of us who have joined Team in Training are raising funds to support this mission.

Please make a donation to support this amazing cause! My personal goal is to raise $10,000 and complete the Olympic distance triathlon (.93 mile ocean swim, 24.85 mile bike ride and 6.2 mile run). Any support you can give, whether financial or emotional, is greatly appreciated!

If you have a personal connection with blood cancer, please feel free to share your story or that of a loved one in your message, I will take strength from these stories and add them to my personal list of honorees.

Follow my progress on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KonaTri2010, and help spread the word!

Thank you for your support!

Note about donating: LLS is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

I've elected not to display donor lists or amounts, but if you write a personal message of support (which I encourage!) , your name and message will be listed, but no dollar amounts. If you or your spouse/significant other works for a company that offers matching donations, please take advantage of this benefit as it will really help this great cause!