I was so excited to hear that I had been accepted onto the 2010 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team! Not only am I pumped to officially be enrolled in the Boston Marathon - a dream of mine for quite some time - but I am going to get to meet so many incredible people along the way, and most importantly, contribute my time and efforts towards raising money for better cancer treatments at one of the most established hospitals for cancer research in the world! (Can you tell I'm excited?!)
This all started because a little less than a year ago, a close family friend of mine was suddenly diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer - doctors said he had less than a couple months to live, and there was nothing more they could do. This left his family and friends devastated. Chuck Harvey was one of the kindest, easy-going, fun-loving people that ever was and he is missed greatly by the 1,000s of people he has touched in his lifetime. In Chuck's memory, my sister, Ashley, my mother, and my grandmother all competed in the 2nd Annual Tri-For-A-Cure Triathalon in Maine this summer - and raised 1,000s of dollars for cancer research. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough space in the hugely popular event for me to participate, so I volunteered for the race instead. I have to say, watching all the breast cancer survivors with their bright pink bathing caps on as they entered their first leg of the race, and then crossing the finish line, many hand-in-hand, it was so inspiring to me. That was what truely sparked my interest in running for Dana-Farber. There are so many people out there that have been affected by cancer and with it currently being the leading form of death in the US, there's always more we can help!
Now, I really need your help and support though. In the next 6 months, I am hoping to raise $10,000 - 100% of which will fund the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research! We all have been touched by cancer in some way... and it's our job to help find a cure for it. Whether you can donate $1,000 or even just $10 or 20, every little bit counts and gets me closer to my goal and my team's overall goal of $4.4 million!
Thanks for all your love and support! Keep tuning in for more stories of my journey as a member of 2010 DFMC :)
Amanda
