About Me

My Goal: Run the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2019 with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. Raise $17,000 (or more!) where 100% of funds raised benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. I run in honor of my friend Chris Davie who is battling brain cancer. I also run in honor for my friend RJ and his continued cancer-free life, in memory of Heather Thomson, and for other family and friends who are or have battled cancer. Together we can help Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reach the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer

Barr Program Impact Statements

Barr Program Impact Statements

Immunotherapies: New Ways to Activate the Immune System—An important area of cancer research asks why the human body's defense systems do not always attack and destroy tumors as they form. Funded by the Claudia Adams Barr Program, Glenn Dranoff, MD, discovered complex regulatory pathways in the human immune system that cancers exploit in order to escape destruction. Reversal of these effects can lead to the development of vaccines against cancer, like Provenge for prostate cancer. This research has also enabled the development of immune-activating drugs such as ipilimumab, which showed striking effects in melanoma in a trial led by Dana-Farber scientists and is now approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

1/2 Way Through Filgrastim Shots

Today is day 3 of 5 of the Filgrastim shots to mobilize stem cells from the bone marrow.  I didn't realize that the dosage would be split between 2 shots each day.  They're not bad, but one would have been nicer!  Other than that, everything is proceeding as expected. I was told not to run a 1/2 marathon this morning (the Chilly 1/2 in Newton, MA) which was disappointing but a good recommendation.  In the end, this is a major event for the patient and I want to do everything I can to help it succeed.  I gave up my number and everyone is running now on a perfect running day here in Boston.  Definitely miss being out there, but the right decision as I am starting to feel some of the effects of the repeated treatment.

According to Wikipedia: The most commonly observed adverse effect is mild-to-moderate bone pain after repeated administration and local skin reactions at the site of injection.
Yesterday afternoon I went for an easy run and felt various aches creeping up, most notably in my lower back and sternum.  After stretching and showering I crashed and felt exhausted.  Waking up this morning, I'm definitely more tired than I would expect after 8-9 hrs of sleep and the lower back soreness is still definitely present.  Other aches creep up, but nothing too bad.  I guess this is a good thing though as the PBSCs are being mobilized.  Only 4 more shots to go and a 5-6hr donation process, but some temporary discomfort to help someone hopefully overcome cancer is definitely worth it!
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