A Very Good Cause
This Saturday is the 2nd annual "Path to Progress" walk/run for the American Brain Tumor Association. The event takes place right here in Chicago, along the lakefront. The American Brain Tumor Association exists to raise funds to provide grants for research into new treatments for brain cancer. They are funding some incredible scientists and studies. Better treatments cannot come soon enough for this, what is called an "orphan disease". "Orphan disease " because it gets no attention. Because it doesn't affect as many people as other cancers. Its an incredibly difficult cancer to treat. There are 120 different kinds of brain tumors, that's why its so difficult. The current "standard of care" treatment is "successful" in about 20% of the cases. If you call surviving a few years successful. They do. Most folks survive only one year with this disease, if they are lucky. Lou beat the odds by living 22 months with a glioblastoma, a stage IV brain cancer, sitting in his head. His was inoperable. That's particularly difficult to treat, let alone cure. Cure was not a word in our vocabulary. Neither was remission. But there is hope. New drugs are in clinical trials that are seeing some better responses. But it's not enough. That's why we need more research. That's why we are walking on Saturday. We're walking to help the folks I talk with online who are living with this awful disease, hanging on until a better treatment is found. We're walking to help Valerie Grace, a beautiful 2yr. old who has a brain tumor. We're walking to help Dorothy, who was just diagnosed two weeks ago. And Kate, and Pam, Al and so many other dear, dear people. Too many. If you would like to help the cause, go to www.abta.org. Click on the link for the Path to Progress. To support our team, type in Team Beres where it says "find a team". It will tell you what to do. Or, you can mail your donation in, the address is on the website. Please reference Team Beres. Any donation is welcome, any at all. I wouldn't be asking if I did not feel it was a good cause. It is. It's a very good cause. Thank you. Thank you, all.
posted by CB | 1:14 AM
3 Comments:
GO TEAM BERES!!!
Fred and I would have long conversations about what was right and what was wrong. He used to tell me that if I knew something was wrong, I had to take responsibility for it and do the best I can to make it right.
Brain cancer is wrong ... I know it, you know it ... there is no arguing it. Since we know it is wrong it is up to us to take responsibility and do the best we can to make it right.
Good for you Cathy, Drew, Damon and all for taking responsibility and doing something to make a difference.
Great work!!
we have our Relay for Life for the Canadian Cancer Society on May 5th, the bank Ron managed has a team that we are walking for!!
I have been reading your blog for many months now but never posted a comment. I hadn't looked at it for a couple weeks and wish I would have, because I drove 6 hours to Chicago to participate in the Path to Progress walk and would have loved to have met you! I was walking for my sister, who is 26 years old and was diagnosed with glioblastoma one year ago, while pregnant. Her tumor returned and is now in the corpus collosum area, just like Lou's. Your writing is so honest and so inspiring and I would have loved to have met you and told you this in person. Anyway, just wanted to let you know I'm out there, reading, and thinking of you....
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