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, January 26, 2014

A Run, An Ice Cream Sundae, An Inspirational Day

Like the last 3 weeks, Sat morning started around 6.30AM, waking up like it was a work day but preparing for run instead of sitting at a desk.  After the extreme cold of the last few days, Sat AM was a nice reprieve.  About 100 members of the DFMC team met at the Greater Boston Running Co in Newton and prepared to hit the road.  We had a nice run and fantastic volunteers to stand around and support us runners, pouring Gatorade, refilling pretzels and cheering us on.  It was a tough 16 miles but I managed my way through it.  The GBRC were great hosts and had bagels and coffee for us following the run, a very nice way to finish!

Preparing to head out.

After the team run, it was a quick turnaround as there was also the Patient Partner Match Party.  Having run with RJ the last 2 years, we were looking forward to catching up and seeing other patient-runner pairs.  The party started meeting a new patient in the program, Ian, and his dad and brother, as well as Ian's runner.  Though Ian was diagnosed with cancer last April, he's looking strong, as are many of the patients that we saw yesterday.  After chatting for a bit, RJ and I lead the charge to the ice cream sundae table, with the rest of the table close behind. The program began with a patient partner pair, Brendan and Patrick, saying what the program meant to each of them.  It was a great reminder for us runners that while training is a lot to commit to, with many ups and downs, what these kids, and anyone battling cancer, goes/has gone through is so much more.  Seeing RJ, listening to Brendan & Patrick and thinking about the DFMC experience, it was an inspirational way to end the day and make the 16mi training run mean that much more.
Remnants of our tables Ice Cream Sundaes



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