On the fundraising front, I am inspired that you helped push me just past the 41% mark before the New Year (my actual total right now is $4172.64 but I am waiting for some gifts to be posted to my page). I look forward to not only meeting but exceeding my goal of raising $10,000 for the Barr Program in Innovative Cancer Research before I take my first step in Hopkinton on April 20th.
And yet, this is where it gets challenging.
Up until now, I have already ran the mileage we covered up through this week (albeit not nearly as strong but still, I have ran it).
Up until now, I have already reached and exceeded a goal to raise several thousand dollars when running Falmouth for Dana-Farber.
So as we move into uncharted territory here is where it will get hard. When 13 miles morphs into 16, 17, 18 and so forth in the weeks to come and I wonder how I will ever get through it. Where the fundraising emails begin trickling in with a little less frequency and I wonder if I will ever be able to reach my goal. But you find your greatest strength in those moments when doubt starts whispering in your ear. And you push it aside while working even harder, striving even farther, and finding a way to not only reach but fly past your goals.
I was reminded of this during our group run this past weekend when I started losing steam just past the 10 mile mark on our hilly chilly run. Just as that little voice started whispering "you can't go for another three or four miles...let them go ahead...just walk...come on, you're tired," my teammate, and fellow first time marathoner, shared that she was inspired to join our team because she had been diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer at Dana-Farber last year. She recently celebrated her one year anniversary of ending radiation and, furthermore, she is running in honor of her friend who was recently diagnosed. As I huffed and puffed along, I looked at this brave and strong woman running next to me and was filled with new energy and hope. She didn't give up and neither will I. So in honor of my teammate, today's impact statement focuses on the work Dana-Farber is doing for breast cancer patients.
With funding from the Barr Program, Dr. Todd Golub, MD worked to determine which of the 35% of early stage breast cancer patients should receive chemotherapy while sparing the other 65% from unnecessary treatments. We now know that not all tumors are alike, and that treatment strategies need to be based on the unique molecular characteristics of each cancer- not just the organs where tumors originate. Dr. Golub worked to achieve early molecular work classification of tumors, leading directly to customized treatments now used by oncologists around the world with significantly better outcomes for patients. For example, gene expression is now routinely used in determining those breast cancer patients who are most likely to relapse after surgery and therefore require additional treatment, and Dr. Golub's work provided the rationale for this development as well as serving as the foundation for how many other diseases will be routinely treated as well.
Time and time again we see how the cutting edge work being done at Dana-Farber through the Barr Program is leading to new treatment options and protocol, higher survivor rates, and a better quality of life both throughout and after treatment. Truly incredible stuff.
Happy Monday everyone - whatever your goals are, go for it!
T-Minus 97 Days!
