Goodbye to a Legend -- Hope for the Future

By now I'm sure everyone has heard about the passing of Patrick Swayze.  I can't even begin to imagine the struggles he went through, the pain he and his family endured.  At least -- maybe now -- the family can begin to find peace.


I don't hear about pancreatic cancer very often.  I knew that Swayze had it, and it was mentioned on an episode of House last night.  But I had no idea how horrific it is -- the statistics for those with pancreatic cancer are mind-numbing.  Only 13% live for a year after diagnosis, and only 3% survive for five years.  Wow. 


But it sounds like there's hope.  I ran across an article this morning about a new advance form of radiotherapy that can actually target the tumor, meaning higher doses of radiation can be used without damaging surrounding tissue.  You can read more about it here -- it's actually quite an interesting article. 

And a little hope can be a big thing.

Updates & Big Thanks

Wow, it's crazy how time gets away from me -- didn't mean to stay away for a week! I've been reading the wonderful and encouraging comments you guys left on my last post. Thanks SO much -- I'm actually getting super excited about the half and can't wait to celebrate with everyone at our TEAM dinner the night before. And I have a ton of blog reading to catch up on -- I promise I'll squeeze it in between Biggest Loser and The Bachelor ...

I've been working out at the gym at work most days, sticking to the bike and light weights. I did test my ankle twice last week, going a mile on the treadmill each time. My ankle felt great *knock on wood* but didn't want to push it too hard too fast. I'll be re-joining my TEAM runs starting Saturday, with low mileage of course. I heard they kicked some major butt at Cowtown last weekend -- wish I could have been there!

I'm about to go out and take advantage of 65 degrees and sunshine, but wanted to once again say a big "THANK YOU" to all of my donors. Can you believe I only have $290 to go to reach my $1,800 goal? And I couldn't have done it without you! And a HUGE thanks to all of my moral supporters as well -- you guys keep my head glued on. So thank you all!

P.S. Any 50/50 fans out there? Be on the lookout tomorrow ... ;-)

P.S.S. For every $5 donated between now and this Saturday (March 7), you'll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win over $650 worth of giftcards, including Nordstrom, Target, Best Buy, iTunes, Anthropologie, Outback Steakhouse, massages and more!! One person will win it all -- cha ching! My TEAM Coach will draw the winner on Saturday. Good luck! :-)

Why I Run

Since I've started my training and fundraising with TNT, I've had many people ask why. Why I get up at 5:30 every Saturday morning, why I bombard friends and family with donation letters, why I set my sights at $1,800 and 26.2 miles.

There are many personal reasons why I initially joined. And now I have many other reasons that keep me going. Kids like Austin Moreno is one of them -- I mentioned his mom and one of our TEAM mentors, Kim, in my last post. Austin is now more than half-way through his three-year treatment for Leukemia and just celebrated his fifth birthday in December.

I had the pleasure of meeting this amazing kid last month while at Run On. He reminded me of my nephew -- running around with his buddy playing tag, shooting imaginary guns, toting around his Thomas the Train backpack. I noticed he was wearing colorful beaded necklaces and just figured he had made them himself for fun. I wasn't even close to being right. My coach, Mark, told our TEAM later that Austin participates in a program called Beads of Courage.

Beads of Courage is a unique program designed to honor the challenging journey kids take while experiencing cancer and related treatments. Through the program, the collection of beads symbolizes courage and serves to honor milestones achieved along each unique treatment path. Each individual bead Austin wears has special significance about his treatment:

• Beige - A Bone Marrow Biopsy/Aspiration
• White - A course of Chemotherapy
• Orange - Central Line/port insertion or removal
• Blue - Clinic Visit
• Magenta - Emergency/Ambulance/Unusual Occurrence
• Brown - Hair loss/thinning
• Lime - Isolation/fever/neutropenia
• Tortoise- Lumbar Puncture
• Purple - Morphine/Dopamine/PCA Infusion
• Silver/Black - Pokes (IV starts, Blood Draws, IM Injections, Port Access)
• Glow in the Dark - Radiation treatment
• Light Green - Test/Scans (EKG, ECG, MRI, CT, Bone Scan)
• Red - Transfusions
• Aqua - tube Insertion (Catheter, Chest)
• Yellow - Overnight at Hospital/ Inpatient Admission
• Dark Green - Stem Cell Harvest/Dialysis/TPN
• Silver - Surgery & Dressing Change
• Square Heart - Transfer to PICU

This picture speaks louder than anything I could say:

So when people ask me why, all I can think is -- Why Not?

Excuses, Excuses

So, obviously, this blog is still a work in progress. I can't seem to decide on a background -- suggestions are always helpful!

Anyhoo, training the past two weeks has been ... well, scarce. Work + a cold + 30 degree weather = way too many excuses keeping me inside lollygagging instead of outside training. I'm hoping to turn that around at our team run on Saturday. According to the schedule, I'm supposed to hit 8 miles ... but I may keep it closer to 5 unless by some miracle I have the energy to do more.

And, for any of my wonderful donors who are reading this, THANKS again for all of your support!! I've reached my halfway mark in fundraising -- just over $1,000 -- and I couldn't be more ecstatic. I know the holidays are hard, especially this year, so I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

Keep checking back for more updates!