2007 Team In Training Fund Raising

Come June once again, I will be riding my bike around Lake Tahoe as part of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training program. I will ride in honor of my friend Allison Bishop and all the people impacted by cancer that you have shared with me. Unfortunately, I add to my list of honorees this year Brenda Sampson, a co-worker at both Indymac Bank and Principal. Brenda died of multiple myeloma – a blood born cancer this past August.

With your help last year, I was able to raise over $34,500 towards finding a cure for blood cancers! This year, I have set my goal at $50,000! A very large number indeed!

As a result of your support of my fund raising effort over the past few years, I was invited to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s International SCOR Award Gala in San Diego. At this event, the Society awarded four $6.25 million dollar research grants to the “cream of the crop” of the international cancer researchers. I had the opportunity to meet people such as Dr. Brian Druker of the Oregon Health & Sciences University (http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/120606gleevec.cfm), who developed the wonder drug Gleevec. Gleevec is a molecularly targeted treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) – a cancer that, before Gleevec, had at least an 85% death rate. Gleevec is a drug that uses cancer cells to attack other cancer cells found in a body while not destroying healthy cells. The research to find Gleevec was funded by the dollars that people like you have given to my fund raising effort! Isn’t remarkable that people are living today because of your generous donations! Something else you may want to know is Dr. Druker himself is a Team in Training member. He runs marathons to raise money for the Society!

I also met Dr. Carolyn Felix of the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital (http://www.med.upenn.edu/camb/faculty/cgc/felix.html). Dr. Felix is a pediatric oncologist – she works with newborn babies who have cancer. Besides seeing patients, Dr. Felix also is leading a team of researchers to develop targeting therapies for infant leukemias (specifically MLL - Mixed Lineage Leukemia; Myeloid Lymphoid Leukemia). Traditionally chemotherapy has been used to cure blood born cancers in infants, but the impact of the chemo on the baby can be toxic. Dr. Felix is working to develop cures that are not toxic to children.

The most amazing experience I had at the Gala was that the doctors and researchers I met treated me like I was the “Rock Star”! They felt people like me should be honored because we help raise the money that funds their amazing research! In fact Dr. Druker said that while in the past being diagnosed with a blood born cancer was like a death sentence, today there is hope because of the generous donations you make! Dr. Druker, Dr. Felix and the other researchers have made tremendous advancement because of the dollars you have given, that the Society now predicts in five to ten years blood born cancers will be able to be treated like chronic diseases! That is incredible!

So once again, I am asking you again to contribute to my fund raising effort to help the amazing researchers and doctors who are diligently working to find a cure for all cancers with the support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. As I mentioned, I have set my goal this year to raise $50,000! A lofty goal, but with your help it can be achieved. As in the past, I will personally make a $5,000 donation and pay for my own travel costs so you can be assured so that all money you donate will go 100% to the research to find a cure.

As always, you have two ways to donate. You can go on-line to donate directly via my secured Internet site:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntdms/tntdmsPHarrig2

Or you can mail a check to me at:

PJ Harrigan 12582 N. 146th Way
Scottsdale, AZ 85259

Many corporations will match donations made to the Society. Please check with your company’s Human Resources department to see if they participate. If they do, please send your corporate matching funds form to me and I will take care of getting it filled out and submitted!
I often get asked why I am so passionate about Team in Training – especially since I have never had this terrible disease touch my family. Over the past three years I have realized how many of you have been impacted by the evil hand of cancer – too many of you. Please share this letters with others who may have an interest in helping find a cure for cancer by donating to my goal. As a reminder, while the Society focuses on finding cures for blood cancers, they have made discoveries that benefit the fight against all cancers.

Thank you once again for your help and support in finding a cure.


PJ



PS You can see a picture of me with Dr. Druker at the SCOR Gala on my Website.