Katie Foley's Team In Training Page
Racing to Save Lives
Last year, I ran a half marathon in San Diego, California and was able to raise over $4,000 as a member of Team in Training (TNT). This year I will be participating in the Mayor's Midnight Sun full marathon in Anchorage Alaska. My goal is to rais $5,000 this year to help the Society’s mission: to improve the quality of life for blood cancer patients and their families, as well as provide funding to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin Disease and Myeloma.
I will be running in honor of Barbara (Babs) Dervishian, a long time friend of my parents, Deb and Dave Turner. Babs was diagnosed with Acute Myelokaryocytic Leukemia in 1992 and was initially treated with a bone marrow transplant. She relapsed in 1995 and received back to back stem cell transplants as well as treatments to rebuild her immune system. In late 2006, she was diagnosed with a reoccurrence of AML and underwent treatment at the Rocky Mountain Blood and Marrow Transplant Program in Denver. She underwent chemotherapy in February and March of 2007, received a donor Leukocyte infusion from her brother in March, and followed up with radiation therapy in May. She is now operating almost 100% off of her brother’s cells. She has overcome all odds and is continuing to fight 15 years after her diagnosis.
Your donations do make a difference. The good news is that the survival rate has risen from 4% in 1960 to 81% in the last decade. While more and more people are becoming survivors of these deadly diseases, there is still no cure. Hospitals like Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute benefit directly from the donations you make. Money raised by The Society was used to develop medications like Gleevec and Velcade (widely used chemotherapy drugs) as well as to educate patients and families and provide financial assistance to lessen the burden of treating the disease.
Thank you for your support in making a donation to this special cause. If your employer matches donations, please let me know and I would be happy to help out with the appropriate paperwork. Please remember, these donations are tax deductible and every little bit counts.
