I Have a Way You Can Help the Cause
When Bo and I were in Dr. P's waiting room last week for my lab work, I discovered "Cure" magazine. Can you believe there is a magazine dedicated entirely to cancer and for people who have cancer? Well, it makes sense when you consider this statistic contained in one of the articles: 46% of men will have cancer during their lifetimes, and 38% of women. Those are pretty sobering percentages. Even if you manage to dodge this particular bullet, many people you know and love, will not. The encouraging news is that, as implied by the title of the magazine, cancer doesn't have to be a death sentence.
Treatment for cancer has come so far. Take my situation, for example. Breast cancer is no longer a one-size fits all diagnosis with a standard course of treatment. In fact, since I embarked upon this journey, I have spoken to many women who have breast cancer or have had it, and none of them have or had the same protocol as I have had. The plan is really customized to the specific type of cancer. Is the cancer infiltrating ductal or lobular? What was the age at diagnosis? Is there a family history? Is it estogren/progesterone receptor positive or negative? Is it her2neu positive or negative? How large is the tumor? Is there lymph node involvement? The answers to those questions will determine lumpectomy versus mastectomy, chemo before or after surgery, the duration, frequency and type of chemo, the drugs that will be prescribed during treatment and for years after, radiation or not, etc. That's just for breast cancer. Other types of cancer have very specific protocols also.
The medical community has the benefit of years of extensive research now, but anyone who has cancer benefits the most from that research. I am confident that if my Mom had been given the same type of treatment plan used today and had had the latest drugs available to her, breast cancer would not have claimed her life and robbed this family of this beautiful, gentle woman who truly enjoyed life and people (and dining and dry manhattans).
I am the recipient of advances discovered through hundreds of thousands of women before me, many who unfortunately did not survive breast cancer and many more who have. The survival rates continue to improve for all types of cancer, thanks to the research that is ongoing.
One of the country's foremost cancer research facilities is the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Every year, a bike-a-thon, the Pan-Mass(achusetts) Challenge (PMC) is held to raise funds for that institute's "Jimmy Fund", and over 4,000 cyclists participate. My cousin, Kathy, is one of them. She first began riding in the Pan-Mass challenge back in the late 1980s in honor of my mother. (My mother was the sister of Kathy's Mom, my Auntie Jo.)
Kathy is a month younger than me, and her two sons, Tyler and Andy, are both a month younger respectively, than Clay and Lance. We are bonded through multiple parallel pregnancies and through a strong family connection over the years. Plus, we just plain like eachother! Kathy is truly a phenomenal woman, but even wonder women have their limitations. While Kathy focused on family and her career at Middlebury College in Vermont, her participation in the Pan-Mass challenge was put on hold for a decade. She began riding again last year. Kathy wrote in her recent fundraising appeal to friends and family, "This year is particularly meaningul for me in that 2006 marks the 10-year anniversary of the death of my aunt for whom I began riding in the late 1980s, and it is the year that her daughter (my cousin) - Mary Beth Morrill Gibson- was diagnosed with cancer."
When Kathy and I spoke a few weeks ago, she suggested that I do the challenge with her sometime in the future. I committed to do it with her next year when I am cancer free as "living proof" that cancer research makes a difference. Bo, my two brothers, Jeff, and John, my sister-in-law, Julie, my Dad, and my hiking buddy, Jenn, have all committed to participate with me and Kathy in 2007 as well. Consider yourself warned that next year I will be making a personal appeal to each of you to support my victory ride. Anyone else who wants to boost their "hiney parts" on a bicycle for ninety miles is more than welcome to join us! Just let me know.
In the meantime, Kathy is riding this year and must raise a minimum of $2,300 to participate in the first day of the challenge, a nearly 90 mile ride from Wellesely, Massachusetts to the Bourne Bridge at Cape Cod on August 5. She has, however, set an aggressive goal of $6,000. Last year, the challenge raised $23 million of which 99% went to the Jimmy Fund for cancer research. This year, the goal is $24 million.
Many of you have repeatedly told me, "If there is anything I can do to help you and your family out, please let me know." The outpouring of love and support in all of its forms has been more help than any of you realize, but if you want another way to assist, I would ask that you consider making a donation to Kathy's fundraising efforts. Your help will have far reaching benefits beyond just my personal situation.
If you are interested, donations can be made on-line via credit card payment through her (secure) personal PMC web page. It is https://www.pmc.org/egifts/giftinfo.asp?eGiftID=KF0072
Her personal PMC profile page may be viewed at http://www.pmc.org/mypmc/profiles.asp?Section=story&eGiftID=KF0072
While the PMC is a prominent annual event in Massachusetts, outside of that state, most people aren't aware of its significance. A compelling article about the PMC was published in Newsweek last summer can be found at http://www.pmc.org/articles.asp?ArticleID=223
Although Kathy is riding on August 5, donations will be accepted through early October. I have contributed to Kathy's ride each time, and this year will be no different except that for the first time, it is not just for my Mom, it is for me. It is also for Big Nanny and you too, Carrie. Thank you, Kathy, for riding for us and everyone else impacted by this disease now or later, either personally or through people they love. Here's sending pedal power your way!
Treatment for cancer has come so far. Take my situation, for example. Breast cancer is no longer a one-size fits all diagnosis with a standard course of treatment. In fact, since I embarked upon this journey, I have spoken to many women who have breast cancer or have had it, and none of them have or had the same protocol as I have had. The plan is really customized to the specific type of cancer. Is the cancer infiltrating ductal or lobular? What was the age at diagnosis? Is there a family history? Is it estogren/progesterone receptor positive or negative? Is it her2neu positive or negative? How large is the tumor? Is there lymph node involvement? The answers to those questions will determine lumpectomy versus mastectomy, chemo before or after surgery, the duration, frequency and type of chemo, the drugs that will be prescribed during treatment and for years after, radiation or not, etc. That's just for breast cancer. Other types of cancer have very specific protocols also.
The medical community has the benefit of years of extensive research now, but anyone who has cancer benefits the most from that research. I am confident that if my Mom had been given the same type of treatment plan used today and had had the latest drugs available to her, breast cancer would not have claimed her life and robbed this family of this beautiful, gentle woman who truly enjoyed life and people (and dining and dry manhattans).
I am the recipient of advances discovered through hundreds of thousands of women before me, many who unfortunately did not survive breast cancer and many more who have. The survival rates continue to improve for all types of cancer, thanks to the research that is ongoing.
One of the country's foremost cancer research facilities is the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Every year, a bike-a-thon, the Pan-Mass(achusetts) Challenge (PMC) is held to raise funds for that institute's "Jimmy Fund", and over 4,000 cyclists participate. My cousin, Kathy, is one of them. She first began riding in the Pan-Mass challenge back in the late 1980s in honor of my mother. (My mother was the sister of Kathy's Mom, my Auntie Jo.)
Kathy is a month younger than me, and her two sons, Tyler and Andy, are both a month younger respectively, than Clay and Lance. We are bonded through multiple parallel pregnancies and through a strong family connection over the years. Plus, we just plain like eachother! Kathy is truly a phenomenal woman, but even wonder women have their limitations. While Kathy focused on family and her career at Middlebury College in Vermont, her participation in the Pan-Mass challenge was put on hold for a decade. She began riding again last year. Kathy wrote in her recent fundraising appeal to friends and family, "This year is particularly meaningul for me in that 2006 marks the 10-year anniversary of the death of my aunt for whom I began riding in the late 1980s, and it is the year that her daughter (my cousin) - Mary Beth Morrill Gibson- was diagnosed with cancer."
When Kathy and I spoke a few weeks ago, she suggested that I do the challenge with her sometime in the future. I committed to do it with her next year when I am cancer free as "living proof" that cancer research makes a difference. Bo, my two brothers, Jeff, and John, my sister-in-law, Julie, my Dad, and my hiking buddy, Jenn, have all committed to participate with me and Kathy in 2007 as well. Consider yourself warned that next year I will be making a personal appeal to each of you to support my victory ride. Anyone else who wants to boost their "hiney parts" on a bicycle for ninety miles is more than welcome to join us! Just let me know.
In the meantime, Kathy is riding this year and must raise a minimum of $2,300 to participate in the first day of the challenge, a nearly 90 mile ride from Wellesely, Massachusetts to the Bourne Bridge at Cape Cod on August 5. She has, however, set an aggressive goal of $6,000. Last year, the challenge raised $23 million of which 99% went to the Jimmy Fund for cancer research. This year, the goal is $24 million.
Many of you have repeatedly told me, "If there is anything I can do to help you and your family out, please let me know." The outpouring of love and support in all of its forms has been more help than any of you realize, but if you want another way to assist, I would ask that you consider making a donation to Kathy's fundraising efforts. Your help will have far reaching benefits beyond just my personal situation.
If you are interested, donations can be made on-line via credit card payment through her (secure) personal PMC web page. It is https://www.pmc.org/egifts/giftinfo.asp?eGiftID=KF0072
Her personal PMC profile page may be viewed at http://www.pmc.org/mypmc/profiles.asp?Section=story&eGiftID=KF0072
While the PMC is a prominent annual event in Massachusetts, outside of that state, most people aren't aware of its significance. A compelling article about the PMC was published in Newsweek last summer can be found at http://www.pmc.org/articles.asp?ArticleID=223
Although Kathy is riding on August 5, donations will be accepted through early October. I have contributed to Kathy's ride each time, and this year will be no different except that for the first time, it is not just for my Mom, it is for me. It is also for Big Nanny and you too, Carrie. Thank you, Kathy, for riding for us and everyone else impacted by this disease now or later, either personally or through people they love. Here's sending pedal power your way!
posted by Mary @ 8:40 AM
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