Here is a re-post of my first fund raising venture in 2009.
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October 7, 2009
Show the love!
The Short Story: I want your money! (for a good cause!)
The Long Story: I am running the Austin Marathon on February 14, 2010 and have challenged myself to raise $2620 for the Life Raft Group. That is $100 for every mile I run. Plus an extra $20 for that pesky last .2 mile.
The Life Raft Group is a "non-profit organization providing support, through information, education, and innovative research to patients with a rare cancer called GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor)" - the same kind of cancer my dad was diagnosed with in May 2000.
At the time of his diagnosis, my dad was told by his doctors to go home and enjoy what little time he had left. There was no treatment beyond aggressive surgery for this particular type of cancer, as radiation and chemotherapy were ineffective. He had surgery to remove a cantaloupe sized tumor from his stomach, along with 2/3 of his actual stomach, his gallbladder, his spleen, a section of his diaphragm and much of his liver, the cancer had metastasized and was spreading. There was nothing left to do.
Those of you who know him won't be surprised by his response of "!@#$ that"! He got on the internet, did hours of research and talked his way onto a clinical trial at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for a brand spanking new cancer treatment, an oral drug called Gleevec. Within a few months of taking Gleevec in the form of 4 daily pills, the remaining tumors not only stopped growing, they shrank in size. Gleevec saved his life. To this day he has been fortunate enough to have no tumor regrowth whatsoever. Though he still takes Gleevec daily, he is healthy and able to lead a normal life, as normal as any Poss can at least. In the almost 10 years since the clinical trial began, Gleevec was approved by the FDA to treat both GIST and a type of leukemia (CML).
Why should you donate to this rare form of cancer? According to the Life Raft Group website, "although many patients with GIST are being successfully treated with Gleevec, GIST patients continue to die either because they develop resistance to Gleevec or because of delays in diagnosis or obstacles to accessing therapy. GIST cancer research provides a perfect model for demonstrating how to cure other cancers. GIST, although quite deadly, is a relatively simple cancer and has an increasingly understood mechanism of cancer mutations."
In layman's terms, by understanding and finding a cure for one cancer, we are one step closer to finding a cure for all cancers.
No one with cancer, not my dad, not your dad, no one should be told to go home and die, for there is nothing left to do. Help us find a cure and support those already diagnosed with this rare form of cancer.
Please take the time, and a little bit o' money, to donate to this organization. I (and my very talented friend James Hall) will be creating a special outfit for me to wear on race day that lists the names of everyone who donates (and who is willing). Be famous! Let me sweat, drool and possibly vomit on your name! Every little bit counts, $5, $10, $100 or more! (Hello charity tax write off!!!)
If you would prefer to mail a check directly to Life Raft Group, please mail donations payable to the Life Raft Group to:
The Life Raft Group
40 Galesi Drive
Wayne, NJ 07470
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UPDATES
(10/7/09) NEW GOAL! Due to the overwhelming generosity of all the friends, family, co-workers and more who have donated thus far, my new goal is to raise $2620 in 24 HOURS!!! Help me hit that goal! 20 HOURS LEFT! Then we'll talk about raising more after that!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!
(10/7/09) Unbelievable!!! Your generosity is overwhelming, it seriously brings tears to my eyes, and those of you who know me know how hard that is to do! I have reached my goal of $2620 in LESS THAN 6 HOURS!!! That is incredible!!! Clearly this means I must raise the bar and increase my goal to, say, $5000? What do you think? KEEP SHOWING THE LOVE!!!
(10/26/09) The generousity continues! We hit $5000 in less than three weeks! Why not go for $6500? With just under 4 months remaining, this seems like an attainable goal. Thank you again!
(2/4/10) The marathon is just days away! 10 to be exact, and just enough time to raise that last little bit of money to reach my goal of $6500! Thank you so much to those of you who have already donated, your generosity is greatly appreciated! Now I guess I actually have to run the marathon, yikes!
(2/15/10) SUCCESS! I survived! It was long, hilly and much harder than I remember, but it was a gorgeous day to run! Many thanks to all the spectators, supports and cheerers out there, especially those friends and family members who came out. Thank you again to everyone who donated, y'all rock!
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