SoSH Runs the 2014 Boston Marathon for Dana-Farber, MGH, and Patriots Foundation

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
UPDATE: If you're just landing here for the first time, auctions have begun! Bid now:
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/82457-sosh-runs-boston-auctions/
 
---------------------------------
 
Along with the rest of the Boston community, we here at SoSH were affected by the tragic events last Patriots Day. SoSH members ran the marathon, or volunteered, or watched from the crowd. People we love were injured or lost. And during the days that followed, as we tried to process what happened and watched subsequent events unfold, we did something remarkable about it: we raised $16,000 for the One Fund, starting even before the One Fund was established, due to the efforts of some awesome and dedicated people. At the time, many members expressed a desire to do more in the future. One particular suggestion was to sponsor a team of SoSH runners in the 2014 Boston Marathon.

We now have that team.



The Roster

bosoxgrl and TallerThanPedroia are running for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team, which raises funds to support the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research.

Spelunker is running for the Massachusetts General Hospital Pedi Hematology and Oncology Team, which raises funds to support cancer care and research initiatives that enhance the quality of life for the hospitals youngest cancer patients.

Preacher is running for the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, which supports programs that aid the youth and families of the New England region by assisting programs that foster cultural diversity, education, family and health.

I have explained why I am running for Dana-Farber already. I will let everyone else speak for themselves.

How You Can Help

Donate! - In order to split the funds evenly among us, and to let everyone track our progress, we are using GoFundMe as a fundraising portal:

www.gofundme.com/SoSHRunsBoston2014

If you click the link, you will see that I have gotten us started. Let's put up a big number before pitchers and catchers report. Straight donations are appreciated, but if anyone has any auction items they would like to contribute, chime in or let me know and I will see about organizing that.

Spread The Word! - Share the link to the portal or to this thread with your friends and family. Post them on Facebook, Tweet them, get all social.

www.gofundme.com/SoSHRunsBoston2014

The four of us are honored and excited to take part in what will be a very special Boston Marathon. We are grateful for your support as we raise funds for three worthy Boston charities. Let's demonstrate once again what the combined efforts of this community can accomplish.

N.B. - Donations made through GoFundMe are treated as personal gifts and are not tax deductible as charitable donations. If this is an issue for anyone, let me know and I'll have you donate to one of our individual portals, and I'll be able to adjust the fundraising total accordingly.
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,862
Hey everyone,
 
I've mostly gone pretty stealth around here; I'm the proverbial "long-time listener/first-time caller".  Seriously: while my post count is low, I read a disturbingly high percentage of everything posted here, mainly because everything is either incredible informative, amusing, or crazily inane. Or sometimes all three at once. I tend to not post much because the bar is set so high that I feel I wouldn't be adding much to the conversation. So when fundraiser came up, it felt like a chance to meaningfully contribute to the good things this community always seems to be about.
 
While I've never been much of a runner, I'm honored to be included on the 2014 marathon team for MGH and their fight against pediatric cancer. It seems almost all of us have been affected by cancer in some way. Personally I've recently lost someone to it, and I have family and friends battling various forms of the disease. I can't even fathom what it's like to have a child battling it. I've never really fundraised before, and I've certainly never run a marathon, but trying to help eradicate cancer is the sort of thing has gotten me off of the couch.
 
Of course, this isn't just a normal Boston Marathon. We all know what happened last Patriot's day, and during the completely surreal week that followed. 
 
For those not from the area it's hard to explain Patriot's Day. It's like if you mix parts of 4th of July, Labor Day, and St Patty's all together, and then toss on the 11am Sox game and the Marathon. Cookouts and parties mix with lanterns in the Old North Church, Revere and Dawes' rides, and reenactments of Lexington and Concord. It's the busiest, densest day of the year here. And because it falls in April, people come out of hibernation to celebrate spring and the end of another dark, brutal winter. Renewal.
 
Mulling over the proper response to terror got me thinking- oddly enough- about "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!". The Grinch does his best to destroy the Christmas spirit, demoralize a town, and prevent everyone from celebrating. He tried to take from them what they held most dear, and then he waited to watch and to gloat. But when morning came, those Whos down in Who-ville didn't cower in their houses (and they didn't cry "BOO-HOO"). They congregated, and they sang. They celebrated, maybe even more than before.The important part isn't what the Grinch did afterwards: that part makes it a nice story. The important part is what the Whos did in response. For myself, last year I said to a friend that there was no way that I wasn't running the next Boston.
 
So, if you can, give a little. Or give a lot. Help us end cancer. And if you're in the area go to a reenactment, stop by a cookout, or cheer on the runners (lord knows I'll need it). Make this the best Patriot's Day, and the best Marathon, ever.  And maybe our hearts will grow three sizes that day.
 

santadevil

wears depends
Silver Supporter
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
6,472
Saskatchestan
Spelunker said:
 
Hey everyone,
 
I've mostly gone pretty stealth around here; I'm the proverbial "long-time listener/first-time caller".  Seriously: while my post count is low, I read a disturbingly high percentage of everything posted here, mainly because everything is either incredible informative, amusing, or crazily inane. Or sometimes all three at once. I tend to not post much because the bar is set so high that I feel I wouldn't be adding much to the conversation. So when fundraiser came up, it felt like a chance to meaningfully contribute to the good things this community always seems to be about.
 
 
Not the case with this post. Nice work.
 
I threw a few sheckles into the community pot.
I'm a closet runner myself and have done a couple short ones for fundraising.
Keep up the good work everyone. Have an excellent run.
 

Otis Foster

rex ryan's podiatrist
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
1,707
I wish I could be out there, but I've passed my 'sell by' date. I made my contribution and II'll be with you all in spirit, visualizing the fast first 9 miles, then Heartbreak, the women of Wellesley and the downhill into Cleveland Circle (like driving nails into tired quads), finally the home stretch.  
 

bosoxgrl

big fan of Seamen
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2005
2,630
The deep end of the ocean
How do you follow up these posts?  As best as you can.
 
This will be my third time running for Dana Farber.  I ran in 2011 with the SoSH Couch to Half Marathon fundraiser.  We raised a lot of money and have a whole bunch of new runners here :)
 
In 2011, my beloved father was dying of melanoma.  He lived on three different points of the marathon course during his life.  Wellesley Center when I was in high school, Washington Street in Newton when I got married, and for 15 years, he lived a stones throw from the starting line in Hopkinton.  When I told him I was running, in typical Everett fashion, his only answer was "too bad I don't live in Hopkinton anymore, you could have stayed at my house".  He passed away two weeks later.  I dedicated my fundraising and my race to his memory.  I miss him every day and he is always with me on my runs, I carry one of his handkerchiefs.  A coterie of SoSHers were on hand to watch me run that race.
 
That same group of SoSHers had so much fun that day, they decided to go out and support every year.  I joined them last year.  Much fun that morning, we were in Remys and I was told I would have to do a shot for every time I mentioned I ran the year before :)  We went to the morning Red Sox game and left mid-game to go watch the runners along Beacon Street.  My friend Susan, who is part of my running community in Virginia, was running and wasn't having a fast race, so she slowed down to enjoy her run.  This was around the 3:50 point of the race.  She stopped to talk and I took her picture and then she went on her way.  I went into An Nua Tua to sit with the rest of the gang and finally have a beer.  I was uploading her picture to our running groups FB page when the first reports started coming in from the finish line.  Susan ended up being in the first group of runners that got stopped from going down Boylston.  Thank god she stopped to talk to me.  It was a crazy and frightening day to be in the city.
 
In Fall 2012, I was diagnosed with a torn labrum in my hip and was unable to run.  I had surgery in May of 2013 to repair it and was told I may not have a marathon in my legs again.  I worked hard at physical therapy to get myself back on the roads.  When I was approached to join this team, I wasn't even running yet.  But then something happened.  My cousin Pauline Ryan was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died within 6 weeks. I decided I would apply again and just worry about if I could run it at a later date.
 
I can run it.  Less than 6 months out from hip surgery, I ran a personal record at the Richmond Half and my hip has never acted up once.  I'd like to believe that my father was sitting in that operating room, making sure my surgeon got me back up so I could run another marathon.
 

Preacher

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 9, 2006
6,411
Pyeongtaek, South Korea
My decision to run this year certainly began with what happened last year.
 
As Spelunker pointed out, it's difficult to explain Patriots' Day to anyone not from the region.  I grew up in Massachusetts but moved away for college and I haven't lived there since.  Of course, each Patriots' Day, I'd usually catch a bit of the marathon on TV and as much of the Red Sox game as I could (work/school shedule dependent). 
 
This past year was no different except I was watching from 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan.  Because the Sox game was early, I was able to watch most of it after work due to the time difference.  I was in bed when my mom texted me to let me know that there had been a bombing at the finish line of the marathon.  I immediately got up to turn on the TV and see if they were showing the news on AFN.  I watched into the early morning hours as the horrific events unfolded.  The scenes looked like something you'd see in Afghanistan.  But it wasn't Kandahar or Kabul, it was Boston, Massachusetts.  I couldn't believe something like that could happen so close to my hometown. 
 
That week, I decided I wanted to run this year.  I wanted to run for all those affected by the tragedy.  I wanted to back up Big Papi's statement that, "This is our fucking city!"  I never was much of a long distance runner but running is certainly a part of my job so I had been doing it regularly most of my adult life.  While deployed, I signed up for a marathon here in Savannah just to see if I could do it.  I started training in Afghanistan, getting my miles up, doing countless laps on a dusty trail around a small retention pond on the base. 
 
A few months after I returned, I completed my first marathon and it only strenghtened my resolve to run Boston this year.  I now have the opportunity to represent the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.  The Foundation supports programs that aid the youth and families of the New England region by assisting programs that foster cultural diversity, education, family and health.  It recognizes individuals through the Myra Kraft Community MVP Awards which recognize individuals who exemplify leadership, dedication, and a committment to improving their communities through volunteerism.  The Foundation also donated a portion of last year's proceeds to The One Fund. 
 
So, here I am to ask for whatever support you can provide.  If you cannot donate, even just sending out the link to our page to others can help.  Thanks to everyone on here for the countless hours of entertainment you have provided me in this forum. 
 

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
Thanks everyone for their donations so far, and especially whoever tweeted the link out! Please keep it up!

I want to talk up the Barr Program for which the Dana-Farber team that I and bsg are on raises money, since I often get asked questions about it. I went to my first DFMC team meeting recently and we got to hear from Dr. Glenn Dranoff, who leads the Immunology and Vaccine programs at DFCI. He talked about the basic research being done into immunology, the ultimate goal being to get the patient's own immune system to attack tumors directly. He mentioned a couple of vaccines in particular that have had success improving survival for particular cancers: Provenge, which has increased survival by 40% in prostate cancer patients, and Ipilimumab which increased survival by 56% in melanoma patients. It sounded like the best was yet to come, and soon, with this research being applied to all forms of cancer in the near future. And his research is only a fraction of the types of programs that Barr funds.

The real impact of the doctor's presentation came when he took questions, and a man in his 60s rose to say that his wife's life had been saved by such research, and that he was showing his gratitude by running for Dana-Farber for the first time.
 

MalzoneExpress

Thanks, gramps.
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2005
867
Cambridge, MA
With two replacement hips I am not running anymore, but I can still make a donation and support those who can. Thank for organizing this and running.
 

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
Yesterday's Globe had an article elaborating on the immune therapy I mentioned upthread:
 
 
Driven by fundamental research — much of it done in Boston — an immune therapy approach that was on the fringes of cancer therapy is suddenly the hottest trend in cancer drug development.
 
 
 
In the 1990s, researchers debated whether a molecule found on the surface of immune cells called CTLA-4 was a suppressor of the immune system or a trigger. Arlene Sharpe, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Harvard Medical School, engineered a mouse lacking the gene in 1995. With the gene knocked out of the mice, it looked as if their immune systems were attacking their own cells; they died at three weeks of age. CTLA-4 was clearly a brake.

The following year, James Allison, a scientist who now works at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, found a way to release the brake by blocking CTLA-4, and showed that it enabled the immune system to go after tumors. In a clinical trial led by Dr. F. Stephen Hodi at Dana-Farber, an experimental CTLA-4-blocking drug made headway in a subset of patients with melanoma, a cancer that hadn’t seen progress in years.

But there were some significant side effects to the drug, and it seemed to be specific to skin cancer. But such problems would soon be addressed by the potent effects of a powerful class of drugs developed partly based on insights from another Boston laboratory.

Building on discoveries by a Japanese scientist, Gordon Freeman at Dana-Farber led work in the early 2000s to identify two molecules that bind to a protein called PD-1 and signal the immune system to stand down.
 
 
 
 
The approach is now working in an unexpected variety of cancers, such as a subset of lung and kidney cancer patients. Although the data are still early, the responses appear to be long-lasting — as with the melanoma patients treated with a PD-1 blocking drug, which Hodi and colleagues reported on Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
 
“These [PD-1 blocking] drugs are basically already on the map,” said Dr. Keith Flaherty, a melanoma specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center who has been treating Eckert. “Not one of them is FDA-approved yet, but we have seen enough evidence in our patient trials to say this is a quantum leap.”
 
The strong results may lead to immunotherapy’s next chapter. Flaherty has been a pioneer in using targeted therapies matched to the genetic characteristics of a patient’s tumor, medications that have stirred great excitement but that almost inevitably fail eventually, when patients develop resistance to the drugs.
 
He is now collaborating with immunology researchers to try to understand whether targeted drugs and immunotherapies may be more effective when combined. Clinical trials are testing such combinations, and Flaherty and colleagues are exploring how genetically targeted therapies may change the vulnerability of a cancer to an attack by the immune system. They already have found that if they administer a genetically targeted melanoma treatment to biopsies taken from a patient, immune cells attack the cancer cells more vigorously.
 
“Suddenly there’s credibility to this whole field of cancer immunology,” Harvard’s Sharpe said. “That’s been a landscape change.”
 
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,862
Not nearly as big as the the Globe quotes that TallerThanPedroia posted, but BostInno was kind enough to feature me / my charity (in a series about folks from my company running the marathon).
 
Taking an obviously staged 'running' photo in a t-shirt on a cold day might have been even harder than the training. So if you find compelling either my embarrassment or helping eradicate cancer, please toss a few shekels at our SOSH Marathon Center: http://www.gofundme.com/SoSHRunsBoston2014.
 
Thanks for supporting us!
 
 
*********************************
 
 
Meet Sean McCue, the second EF runner we’re featuring leading up to the big race. EF is proud to highlight Sean and the other EF staff who will run the 2014 Boston Marathon on Monday, April 21st.  Each runner has his or her own reasons for participating in what will undoubtedly be one of the most historic and meaningful marathons in history; and each runner is working to raise funds for a great local charity.
 

 
Sean McCue, Director of Web Development, EF Educational Tours
Running for: Massachusetts General Hospital Pediatric Oncology
Fundraising target: $7,000
Funds raised so far:  $3,000
Favorite International Run: The one I’ve enjoyed the most was around the harbor in Reykjavík, Iceland, on one of their very few clear days.
Running shoe:  Saucony Kinvara
 
How did you get in to running?

There’s a big running community at EF, and friends here talked me into it. When we got involved with the Reach the Beach relay it looked like too much fun to miss (even though I wasn’t running much at the time). Over the last year or so I’ve finished a number of races with EF, and run countless laps around the Charles River with the EF Running Club. It’s a really good way to socialize with colleagues and keep my body moving.

 
Why did you decide to run the 2014 Boston Marathon?

I’ve often told people that I’d never run a marathon, but in my head there was usually a small voice saying “…but if I ever do, it’d be Boston.” Growing up in this area, Patriot’s Day is such an important yearly event and the Marathon is its centerpiece. It’s the unofficial welcoming of spring in the city and everyone tries to be outside watching the race, listening to the Sox, and celebrating what makes the city unique. The tragedy last year marred that, but  I think it’s important that we don’t lose what made the day so special. That’s what “Boston Strong” is all about: not letting what happened impact our ability to live fully.
               
If I end up only running one marathon in my life, I’ll always be happy that it was 2014 Boston.

 
Tell us about the MGH Pediatric Oncology Team:

Since 1998, the MGH Marathon Team has raised nearly $9 million to support the pediatric hematology-oncology program. These funds are used for research initiatives and direct cancer care to enhance the quality of life for the hospital’s youngest cancer patients, and this year we’re targeting $1,000,000. One of the humbling things about this program is that we’re able to concretely see the impact we’re having on children suffering from cancer by interacting with the patients and the healthcare workers that treat them. When I was looking for a cause to fundraise for they jumped out to me as something really special.

 
What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Marathon?

Besides finishing? I’m most looking forward to the faces of the people along the route. Hopefully it’s a gorgeous spring day, everyone is out in full-force enjoying themselves, and I can be a small part in helping everyone celebrate another renewing Patriot’s day.
 

PaulinMyrBch

Don't touch his dog food
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 10, 2003
8,316
MYRTLE BEACH!!!!
TallerThanPedroia said:
Thanks everyone for their donations so far, and especially whoever tweeted the link out! Please keep it up!

I want to talk up the Barr Program for which the Dana-Farber team that I and bsg are on raises money, since I often get asked questions about it. I went to my first DFMC team meeting recently and we got to hear from Dr. Glenn Dranoff, who leads the Immunology and Vaccine programs at DFCI. He talked about the basic research being done into immunology, the ultimate goal being to get the patient's own immune system to attack tumors directly. He mentioned a couple of vaccines in particular that have had success improving survival for particular cancers: Provenge, which has increased survival by 40% in prostate cancer patients, and Ipilimumab which increased survival by 56% in melanoma patients. It sounded like the best was yet to come, and soon, with this research being applied to all forms of cancer in the near future. And his research is only a fraction of the types of programs that Barr funds.

The real impact of the doctor's presentation came when he took questions, and a man in his 60s rose to say that his wife's life had been saved by such research, and that he was showing his gratitude by running for Dana-Farber for the first time.
 
Learned too much about this yesterday. Dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma spread to lungs, liver, and small amounts in the brain. He starts immunology in 2 weeks on a drug that is effective in a small percentage of patients. The doctor was hopeful about a drug approved by the FDA that will be available in June, I'm assuming this is it. He is not symptomatic at this point, so even if he is positive for the BRAF test, they are going with immunology as that offers a more hopeful future. Apparently the BRAF protocol works well for a short time but cancer figures it out and returns after about 8 months. He's getting gamma knife radiation for the brain spots, that part seemed cut and dried, the liver spot is the one that is cause for concern.
 
Run your asses off! Appreciate all you guys are doing.
 

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
I'm so sorry to hear that, Paul. It seems like every day I get a new reason to run. I hope everything goes well and all your dad's treatments are effective.
 

PaulinMyrBch

Don't touch his dog food
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Dec 10, 2003
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MYRTLE BEACH!!!!
Thank you,
 
He's starts Yervoy in two weeks, which is the brand name for Ipilimumab
 
They were talking about something better getting approved now and available in June, not sure what that is.
 

Preacher

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 9, 2006
6,411
Pyeongtaek, South Korea
Four weeks to go until marathon Monday! Thanks to all who have donated. It all is going to really great causes. Depending on training schedules, we're getting to the point of our final long distance run before the tapering process begins. For me, it's like one final cramming session before the final exam. The last couple weeks are just for keeping the knowledge fresh (or breaking in my new shoes). I just wanted to say thanks again.
 

wilked

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
4,044
I am running for National Organization of Rare Diseases, see below for an Infographic.  I ran last year, had finished only 15 minutes ahead of the bombings.  I don't need to be part of this fundraising effort but love the effort, thanks!  My cousin has a rare disease and I work for Genzyme who makes medicine for rare diseases.
 
 

Preacher

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 9, 2006
6,411
Pyeongtaek, South Korea
I found out yesterday that my grandfather was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Due to his age (89) and failing health, they will make no attempt to treat it. Hopefully, he goes before his esophagus completely closes from the tumor and he can no longer eat or drink. I knew he wouldn't be around much longer but this certainly is not the way you want to see anyone go. I spent many spring breaks with him fishing in Florida. Certainly kept me out of trouble. He wants me to finish the marathon so he can brag about me at his church. If I already didn't have a good enough reason to cross the finish line. I just wanted to thank everyone again for their donations. Oh, and fuck cancer.
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,862
Ugh. Fuck cancer indeed. My uncle- my godfather, actually- is fading pretty fast from pancreatic cancer. He's definitely one of the people that I'm running for, and I hope that he makes it through to the marathon, but more than anything else I mainly hope that he doesn't suffer through too much pain. 
 
Having a tumor close off your esophagus is exactly the sort of pain I'd hope for him to avoid. Thoughts/prayers.
 

behindthepen

Well-Known Member
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Mar 26, 2005
6,236
Section 41
hope everyone's training is going well.  My wife is also running for MGH (we unfortunately have a family history with their oncology department), and yesterday seemed like a pretty good day for the 20 mile training run here in Boston.
 
her motto is Cuck Fancer.
 

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
behindthepen said:
hope everyone's training is going well.  My wife is also running for MGH (we unfortunately have a family history with their oncology department), and yesterday seemed like a pretty good day for the 20 mile training run here in Boston.
 
her motto is Cuck Fancer.
Yeah it was a great day yesterday. DFMC did an out-and-back from BC, so we weren't part of the huge start at Hopkinton, but I enjoyed seeing people from all the different teams.

Tell your wife happy taper!
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,862
I wish I had more/better pictures of the start, but there were a ton of people who started from Hopkinton including behindthepen's wife (although I didn't get a chance to meet her. Or, rather if I *did* I wasn't able to make the connection back to you). It was a fantastic precursor to the race: there had to be at least a thousand people out on the course. All the various charity teams had leapfrogging water stops, and athletic vendors had a presence as well (I particularly enjoyed Saucony's water/fuel setup in Wellesley that included a bank of 'Wikcked Pissah' porta-potties. Very useful). Heck, there were even a bunch of fans out there cheering along runners. 
 
Seriously, this is one of the things I love about this town and this race: there were more people out supporting the last training run before tapering than a lot of other races see on their actual event day.
 
All the folks involved helped make this feel like an event in and of itself, and it really helped reinforce why we're doing this to ourselves. For my team, Dr. Howard Weinstein- Chief of Pediatric Oncology at MGH, head of the MGH team, and 25 time marathon finisher- and his wife were gracious enough to host everyone at their home on the route before and afterwards. It's amazingly inspirational when the person in charge of the program is also the one putting in such extra-curricular effort in helping the cause.
 
All told, a fantastic day. And for everyone running: welcome to Taper-ville
 

 
 

PaulinMyrBch

Don't touch his dog food
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Dec 10, 2003
8,316
MYRTLE BEACH!!!!
Got some good news today on Dad. His BRAF test is positive, so they are going to hold off on the immune therapy and give him the meds for that mutation. They say this will shrink it somewhat and while its usually only a 6 month effective time frame, when they start immune therapy there will be less cancer for his immune system to fight. So they expect to start the infusions in 2-3 months instead of today. 
 
Ended up on the good side of the odds. They tell me the BRAF mutation is positive in 50% of melanoma patients, but that its around 20% in elderly white males. So the fact that he was positive is a mini-win.
 
They started the conversation with "We've got some good news", so we'll take that. Survive and advance.
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,862
Awesome news! 
 
I've been thinking about melanoma a lot lately, brought up by the passing of James Rebhorn. It's something I've tried to not think about too much, as my best friend has been on and off treatments for it for almost a year now. Any win is a good win, and that one is pretty massive. Good on him.
 

wyatt55

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 26, 2005
1,311
Miskatonic University
Good news.  Every day means another day.  God bless him and all of you on the journey. 
 
Luckily I get along well with my in laws. My Mother in Law's fighting glioblastoma and we view every day as a gift.   
 

PaulinMyrBch

Don't touch his dog food
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Dec 10, 2003
8,316
MYRTLE BEACH!!!!
Yesterday was a long day. Radiation (Gamme knife) back at MUSC. In there at 5:30AM out at 6:15PM.  Everything went well.
 
From the I'll take anything I can get and count it as good news department. There were only two melanoma's in the brain and one of those was really in the bone. The original scan had them believing there were four. So the more detailed scan from yesterday gave us some clarity. Less than what we thought and nothing new showed up from a month ago. So other than the fact it was a long day, things went well and they don't need to see him for a month.
 
While this was never the major issues with what he's going through, its nice to have it out of the way.
 
Thanks again for everyone's thoughts and kind words as we go through this.
 

Corsi

isn't shy about blowing his wad early
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Dec 3, 2010
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Hope this is okay to post here.  My uncle, Richard Campbell, has set up a scholarship at UMass Boston in remembrance of Krystle Campbell.  There's no relation between the two, but both grew up in Medford and worked to pay their own way through UMass Boston.
 
As such, many of my cousins and family will be running in this year's marathon in her memory and are raising money for the scholarship.
 
“Krystle Campbell and I are not related, but she certainly could have been a member of my family, my neighbor or my classmate in Medford,” says Richard. “We share more than just a last name. I felt an immediate kinship because I walked a similar path to the one Krystle was on – working tirelessly to get a good education and achieve her dreams. It’s a dream many of us can relate to, and her journey was so tragically cut short.”
 
Krystle’s father, William Campbell, says the scholarship fund will be a great motivator for other students: “I hope they think, ‘I can be just as good as she can be, I can try hard and work hard and be that type of person’, I think it gives them the initiative to work hard and not give up, ever.”
 
 
If anyone is interested in donating to this worthwhile cause, they can visit http://www.runforkrystle.com/ .  Thank you.
 

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
 
Hope this is okay to post here.  My uncle, Richard Campbell, has set up a scholarship at UMass Boston in remembrance of Krystle Campbell.  There's no relation between the two, but both grew up in Medford and worked to pay their own way through UMass Boston.
 
As such, many of my cousins and family will be running in this year's marathon in her memory and are raising money for the scholarship.
 
 
If anyone is interested in donating to this worthwhile cause, they can visit http://www.runforkrystle.com/ .  Thank you.
 
Of course! Thanks for the link. I'll definitely donate. I was wondering why I hadn't seen anything about a team honoring Krystle, as there are for Sean Collier, Lu Lingzi, and Martin Richard.
 

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
With the remaining three auction payments, our total reaches $8,520. It's time for me to stop fundraising and managing money and focus on running 26.22 miles, but of course these remain great causes that would all appreciate further generosity, so if you're still interested in donating, pick a link and go for it:
 
TallerThanPedroia, Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge: http://www.rundfmc.org/2014/stevebrady
 
bosoxgrl, Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge: http://www.rundfmc.o...014/katehandley
 
Preacher, Patriots Foundation: https://www.firstgiv...tonmarathon2014
 
Spelunker, MGH Pedi Oncology: http://www.crowdrise...aiser/seanmccue
 
If you're going to be at the race, or want to follow us online, check the Bash Forum.
 
Thank you to everyone again for your support and donations, and a special thank you to Kate, Sean, and Clayton for running and fundraising with me.
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,862
Awesome: much appreciated!

It's a gorgeous day out there, Boylston is closed off, and it's wall to wall people walking around the end of the route. This weekend- especially with this finally/took youlongenough/thankgodit'shere weather- really is Boston at its best.
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
Just sent some coin for these great causes. Kudos to all the runners and organizers.
 
Fuck cancer straight up the ass with rusty, jagged gardening implements.
 

TallerThanPedroia

Civilly Disobedient
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
25,537
Boston
mabrowndog said:
Just sent some coin for these great causes. Kudos to all the runners and organizers.
 
Fuck cancer straight up the ass with rusty, jagged gardening implements.
 
Thanks! Total stands at $9,320.
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
Less than $500 away!
 
If just 23 people out of the thousands reading this board today can give $20 each, our runners will achieve their fundraising goal!
 
Please Donate Here