Waiting for the Cavalry

Update and Fund Raising Message of August 27, 2007

Hi again,

Here I am, about seven weeks into my efforts to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while training for the P.F. Chang’s Arizona Marathon in January. I wanted to give an update about how things are going.

My training update is a rare one for me – inactivity! I’ve essentially been a couch potato for two weeks since getting careless and having a chunk cut out of my heel by our storm door. Although not getting up at 4:45 to train is kind of nice, I generally hate the inactivity and can’t wait to be back out there, especially with the Rock ‘N’ Roll half-marathon this weekend.

As far as fund-raising is going, I again thank the 45 people who have joined my “Cancer Kickin’ Team” by making a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. These generous people have donated over $2,100, representing nearly 14% of my goal. You can get detailed information about what I am doing and make a donation if you so choose by going to my TNT web page:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntva/tntvaARitter2007

I appreciate donations of any amount, and will gladly add the name of someone you want to honor with your donation to my web page and race singlet.

If you listen to Public Radio at all, you may occasionally hear commentary by Leroy Sievers, who has stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to his lungs and to his spine and brain. He also has an extraordinary blog that I have subscribed to, which he updates every weekday. His entries often strike a chord with me, even though my personal situation five years ago was nowhere as desperate as his is. Here is an entry that Mr. Sievers wrote last summer that I really liked:

• Waiting for the Cavalry
Posted: 25 Jul 2006 05:35 AM CDT
“Wait for the cavalry. They should be here any minute. Or month. Or year. That's sort of the advice that many cancer patients are given. Just hang on as long as you can. People are working on this. There should be a breakthrough any day now. There have been tremendous advances in the treatment of cancer. And new research offers new hope. So doctors will tell you to just try to hang on, try to live as long as you can and maybe the cavalry will get here in time. It's sort of amazing that with all of the money, time and knowledge that has been poured into the war on cancer, that there still isn't a cure. How could that be? Is it really that tough? Apparently so...”

Well, cancer is a very tough foe, both personally for those who have it, and for those doctors and researchers trying to find a cure. This latter group is the cavalry. That is where you all come in – if you make a donation, you are helping to keep the “cavalry” supplied with the things they need to ride to the rescue. But instead of horses, saddles, guns, and sabers, your generous donations are used to provide the things that medical researchers need, and things that can help support patients and their families through the ordeal.

I was really, really lucky. I did not need the cavalry. People back in the 1970’s and 1980’s saw to that by developing effective, if pretty awful, treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma. In my case, if I could survive the chemo, which I almost did not, I had an 80% chance of living at least five years. I cannot tell you the incredible joy and gratitude that I felt in May 2002 when I learned that I had Hodgkin lymphoma, and not some tough-as-nails non-Hodgkin type. I felt like I had won the lottery! But so many others are not as lucky as I was and are hanging on by their fingernails for the cavalry to arrive. Every dollar each of us in Team in Training raises gets us that much closer to a cure. So if you would like to help, or have already, thanks again – I appreciate it, and many who will never know you will thank you as well.

Best wishes, and thanks.
Art