Join The Fight Against Leukemia And Lymphoma
July 2002
Dear Family and Friends:
Yes, I�m doing it again! On Monday, October 28th, 2002, I will run the
Dublin Marathon with
The Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society�s
Team in Training
program. As many of you know, in December I ran the
Honolulu Marathon
with Team in Training. Every aspect of that experience was so amazing
that I immediately knew I wanted to repeat it. While the location of my
second marathon may be quite different from that of my first, the goal is
the same � to raise money for leukemia research.
It�s now been thirteen years since I was diagnosed with leukemia, and I
continue to think of my good health and good fortune on a daily basis.
Participating in the Team in Training program has reinforced my commitment
to making a difference. In the last thirty years, the cure rate for
leukemia has gone from zero to eighty percent. While this is a wonderful
improvement and I am thankful to have benefited from it, there are still
twenty percent who are not cured.
I will be running the Dublin Marathon in memory of
Steve Nielsen.
Steve lost his long battle with AML in April. He was fifteen years old. As I
train and run those 26.2 miles, I will think of Steve and his bravery to
inspire me and remind my of why I am committed to this cause. In addition,
my team has an honoree: 7-year-old Wesley Peterson. Wesley was diagnosed
with ALL on his first day of kindergarten in September of 2000. He is
currently in remission undergoing 2 1/2 years of maintenance chemotherapy.
Since I started training and fundraising with Team in Training, I have
learned of so many people whose lives have been affected in some way by
leukemia, lymphoma, or another cancer: a friend who lost his sister to
leukemia when they were teenagers; another Team in Training runner who
just passed the second anniversary of her diagnosis with Hodgkin�s
Disease; and another runner whose sister has been battling CML and is
now on the new drug Gleevec. Gleevec was approved by the FDA for treating
CML in May 2001 and was developed by Dr. Brian Druker with funding from
the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Gleevec is having wonderful results
against CML, with no side effects!
In return for the support and coaching I�m receiving from Team in Training,
I have committed to raise $4600 that will go toward research aimed at
finding a cure for leukemia and related diseases. Can I count on you to
join me in this effort? Even with one marathon under my belt, I can�t make
it without your love, enthusiasm, care, and financial support. Just use
the enclosed form and envelope to demonstrate your support. Please feel
free to include inspirational messages, words of advice, lucky charms, and
Band-Aids. I�ll have you with me every step of the way. Seventy-five
percent of all the funds I raise go directly to research, and your
contribution is tax-deductible. So that I can track my fund-raising
progress, please mail your contribution by August 15th. Of course, if you
need some extra time, your donation will still be accepted after that date.
Thanks in advance for your continued support. You�ll be getting from me
updates over the course of the next few months and upon my return from
Ireland. Together we can make a difference and play a part in the
development of more lifesaving drugs like Gleevec. Thank you for being a
part of my life. And on behalf of the true marathoners - those who have
endured or are enduring serious illness - thank you, too.
Cyndi Elias
Bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.
- William Shakespeare
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Copyright 2002
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