Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

On October 2, 2010, I will be running my first ½ marathon! It is exciting to unite my passion for running with an opportunity to support a great cause. I’m running this 13.1 mile race in celebration of my dear friend, Sam Caterina, who was diagnosed at 29 years of age with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in December 1998.

At the time he had been experiencing chest pains and was being treated for what was thought to be an infection around the heart when his neck and head began to swell. Though they didn't know it at the time, the tumor in his chest had pushed his trachea over 1 ½ inches causing him to not be able to breathe. So on Christmas Eve 1998 Sam was admitted into the hospital and the doctors performed emergency radiation to his chest to reduce the tumor just enough for him to breathe and make it through the night.

Sam had a cancer that usually only preschool boys or elderly people get so the doctors had to create a chemo protocol to suit someone his age. The cancer was so aggressive that the protocol called for chemo nearly every day for over a year. The chemo certainly took its toll on Sam causing him to almost die twice from complications. But thankfully, after 14 months Sam was declared "in remission." After a year in remission Sam and his wife, my good friend, Marie, tried to have children. After two rounds of IVF they were blessed with healthy twin boys, Max & Gavin.

In the 10 years since Sam has been in remission, he has never bemoaned what he went through. He never gripes that he can't do some of the things he could before cancer. Nor does Sam complain about the residual effects he continues to experience from the chemo; such as damage to his heart, his lung capacity being diminished by 30%, as well as very poor kidney functioning. He only ever says how fortunate he is to be alive. He says he used to ask God to just let him live long enough to be a father- everything else is icing on the cake.

I am running because I have committed myself to continue the fight so there are more cancer survivors that are also able to see their dreams fulfilled! I ask that you join me in the fight against leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers and hope you will help us through your donations. Approximately 75% of the money that I raise will remain with my local chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Your tax-deductible donation will provide money for research and patient aid and will help to bring hope to cancer patients and their families. Don’t forget that whatever donation you can give can be doubled with a corporate matching program from your employer. I have a deadline, so I ask that you return your donation bySeptember 24, 2010. If you send a check, please make the check to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you have questions, please call me at 914-761-2115 or email at njbubbles4@aol.com.

Sam, Marie, Max, Gavin and I would really appreciate your support.

With love and appreciation,

Deb Mannion