DFMC 7 & Boston 2019: In Honor of Chris Davie: Polar Vortex Returns

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.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Polar Vortex Returns

After a long run last weekend, I got lazy and didn't post to the blog, though I meant to (that counts, right?). This week I made sure to skip my nap and get this done, and then hopefully I'll nap :)

First, we received good news this week from Harpoon Brewery, who is donating a gift back for some lucky guest to win at one of the upcoming fundraisers that Amy and I are putting together. Additionally, the Charles River Canoe and Kayak group has generously donated a certificate valid for up to one full day of boat rental of one standard canoe, single or double kayak, or stand-up paddleboard at any of our rental locations. For those of us looking forward to the summer, this will be a great way to enjoy the warmth in Boston! Thank you very much to both donors!

Fundraising for DFMC has also gone very strong this year, both for me and for the program. At our group run today we learned that DMFC has raised more than $2.7 million for the Claudia Adams Barr Program thus far, more than 50% of their goal for this year! I'm also more than 50% of the way toward my goal. Nearly 60 individuals have helped raised $5,652 thus far! With less that $4,500 to go to reach the $10,000 goal, we should reach this as the marathon approaches.

We also heard from Don, a 2014 DFMC teammate, who is training and running while battling prostate cancer. He has undergone hormone treatment so far and enters the next phase of his treatment in the coming weeks. Additionally, we heard how others treated at Dana-Farber on experimental protocols are responding well and have lived beyond earliest expectations. The Barr Program Impact Statements remind us of this every week.

As for running, last Saturday was a gorgeous day to run here in Boston and we hit the marathon course. As many people have not shoveled sidewalks well, we were forced into the street at times, but mostly, drivers tolerated us well. After starting at 7am in 30F temps, the day quickly warmed up and we finished an 18 mile run with temps near 50F! It was a great day for a run, especially being National margarita day. Unfortunately, the weekend weather didn't last and the cold has returned in force. Thursday we ran with team members on a chilly and windy night and today was another group run with temps in the teens to start. Luckily we dropped in mileage, only running 14-15 miles, making it a bit shorter in the cold. We will recover from the weeks training and prepare for the week ahead. A few pics are below from the past runs.