Racing to Save Lives

photo above shows the dedicated volunteer team with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program who are supporting me in running my first marathon.

Many of you visiting this page will be friends who may have been following my progress to improve my health/ fitness and vitality over the past couple of years. It's been a wonderful journey so far and I want to thank you for your support.

I have decided to refocus the purpose of my running to bring in an extra dimension. That dimension is to make a difference in the lives of others who are impacted by various forms of blood cancers.

I'm training to participate in the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training.

On the day of the marathon I want you to picture me running with as many as 4000 other Team In Training runners at this event (there are around 20,000 runners in all). By supporting me.. it will be just like you will be running alongside me.

I picture those 4000 runners... and I picture the 100's maybe 1000's of their friends who supported them... and then I see the real difference that is being made by the millions of people who are standing for an end to the suffering caused by cancer.

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

I will be blogging my progress through my training on my web site www.YouCanRun.com

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!

Leukemia and Lymphoma impacts both children and adults.

CHILDHOOD CANCER FACTS:

• Childhood cancers are the #1 cause of death for our children. More than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, & pediatric AIDS combined. #2 only to accident.
• One in every 330 children will develop cancer before the age of 19.
• On the average, 12,500 children and adolescents in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year.
• Nearly 3,000 children and teenagers will die each year from cancer.
• One quarter of children diagnosed with cancer will die 5 years from the time of diagnosis.
• Three out of every five children diagnosed with cancer suffer from long-term or late onset side effects. More than ½ of childhood cancer survivors can expect to have life-threatening or a serious chronic disease by the age of 45.
• Cancer in childhood occurs regularly, randomly, and spares no ethnic group, socioeconomic class, or geographic region.
• Several childhood cancers continue to have a very poor prognosis, including: brain stem tumors, metastatick sarcomas, relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and relapsed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Together we will make a difference to this.