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 4, 2015

Beating Cancer, Little by Little

I was not aware that ESPN analyst Stuart Scott had battled recurring bouts of cancer since November 2007.  You can imagine my surprise today when I read of his passing and 'losing' his battle against cancer.  What struck me most was his message, one that I had not heard before:

"When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."

As DFMC 2015 training begins in earnest, I don't know if I'll ever battle a cancer diagnosis, but I know that I'm helping beat it.  While my efforts are small, they will contribute to reaching the goal of DFMC: a world without cancer.  This may be in the near or distant future, but every little bit that we do will help that day arrive.
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