Honoree Update

Yesterday I had the honor of attending a pancake breakfast with several of my team honorees. It was such an inspiration to meet them and to hear their stories.

Each honoree spoke to us about how important it is to keep raising money for cancer research. They are all success stories, but there are so many people who are not as lucky.

One of my former honorees, Oscar was there and he is doing so well! Thanks to Gleveec (a new cancer fighting drug) he is now in remission and he told us he is finally feeling strong and healthy again. In 2005 while he was still doing chemo treatments he trained with his girlfriend for the Nike Marathon. He is a strong supporter of the research the Society does to find treatment options for cancer patients.

Darryl (the tall one in the picture) is also doing well thanks to the medication he takes daily to keep himself cancer free. Darryl was joined by his wife (who is also training for the Nike Marathon) and their 4 kids.

Jake and his wife also joined us. Jake is 75 and has been fighting cancer now for 8 years. He is an amazing guy with so much heart. His wife is actively involved with Team in Training.

Cool Video

I think this video is beautiful.

While I am training for a marathon, other Team in Training members are doing 100 mile bike rides. Like my best friend Drew did last year :)

My Honored Hero Darryl is going to be riding in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in Tahoe this month. Go team!

My Honored Hero: Amanda Orlandella

Amanda (In the blue top with Jillian and Debbie. Picture was taken at a get together Amanda & I hosted for our team) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocyte Leukemia on Friday, October 13, 1999. When she was first diagnosed she was given a very poor prognosis. Luckily she was given a chemo clinical trial and responded well to the treatment. She underwent 2.5 years of the trial and is now cancer free. She ended up becoming a registered nurse and now works with kids that are battling cancer and who have the same cancer she overcame.
New technology and research are helping people with blood cancers to live, and Amanda's story is a testament to that.

Honored Hero: Darryl Brueggeman

Darryl Brueggeman is a cancer survivor that my entire team is running in honor of at the Nike Marathon. In 2006 Darryl started getting back spasms and decided to see a doctor. Within 20 minutes he was admitted to the hospital and a while later was diagnosed with advanced Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on March 22, 2006. Darryl underwent almost 8 cycles of chemotherapy and today is cancer free.
During his treatment, Darryl's wife signed up with Team in Training because she felt like she needed to do something. When Darryl was in recovery he joined her and together they trained for their first marathon. Darryl’s treatments began taking too much of a toll on his body, so he had to stop training- but his wife was able to run the marathon. Darryl wrote the following about the experience, "My wife continued and participated in the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. She ran/walked 26.2 miles and I was there at the finish line to see her cross. I burst into tears, i was so proud of her. She became my hero that day."
This weekend Darryl and his UC Davis Oncologist will be competing with Team in Training's cycle team at the century ride in Lake Tahoe. Darryl says, "I have seen first hand the work of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the great experience of Team in Training."
Darryl is one of my honored teammates and his story inspires me.
Read this recent story as published in the Sac Bee on April 13, 2007:
"Ride to celebrate journey to health
Cancer survivor trains for 100-mile bicycle trip.

By Blair Anthony Robertson - Bee Staff Writer

http://www.sacbee.com/500/story/154222.html
Darryl Brueggeman has an extra-strong back these days, fortified as it is by two titanium rods, two cross braces and eight screws.
Cancer, discovered and treated in 2006, nearly devoured his spine. The surgically installed hardware kept his back from snapping. The subsequent chemotherapy rid his body of the Hodgkin's lymphoma altogether.
Then it was time to live the rest of his life.
Some people who come face to face with death are so moved by the experience that it transforms them. They become new people. They climb mountains, sail around the world, quit their office jobs and become gourmet chefs or, most famously, they grow back their hair and win seven consecutive Tours de France.
Brueggeman, a 44-year-old aircraft mechanic at Travis Air Force Base who lives with his wife in Sacramento, wanted to do something big, too, though he knew his aching, weakened body would need an overhaul. Even during chemotherapy, he started training for a marathon, but he eventually abandoned that plan in agony.
When he was through with his treatments, he thought he would train for a 100-mile bike ride, also known as a century.
Brueggeman bought a $1,200 Cannondale road bike, and from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a Livestrong T-shirt and a yellow wrist band he hasn't removed from his wrist since.
Sure, he wanted to get back in shape. But he soon realized it was more than that. He was riding to make a statement.
"I want to finish the ride -- to prove that I'm alive, that I'm healed, that I'm done," he said.
He read Armstrong's acclaimed book, "It's Not About the Bike," and was moved by the cyclist's experience.
"He had this goal to get back on the bike. I decided that when I got through with chemo, I would do that bike ride," he said.
When he told his doctor a few months ago about his plan, the doctor had an unusual response: Sign me up, too.
Now, Brueggeman and his oncologist-hematologist, Ari Umutyan, 33, are on the same cycling team with Team In Training, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's national fitness program that prepares people for marathons, long-distance bike rides and triathlons while raising money to fund research.
The doctor and patient are among 98 cyclists in the Sacramento chapter training to do the 100-mile ride around Lake Tahoe on June 3, dubbed "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride."
Umutyan, who practices at UC Davis Medical Center, was already a cyclist when Brueggeman told him about the plan to ride the century.
As a young doctor who treats cancer patients, Umutyan says he tries to connect "on an emotional level" with those he treats. He had already given Brueggeman his personal cell phone number and had kept up with his progress.
"It's pretty amazing when someone comes to you in a despairing situation, and they are able to produce this type of strength and motivation to do something like this," Umutyan said. "I think it inspires anyone who doesn't have cancer."
There are five cancer survivors among the 98 cyclists on the squad, according to Lonnie Biehl, team director for the greater Sacramento chapter.
"It's an inspiration. There are people on the team like Darryl who really help the rest of the team stay motivated," Biehl said.
Brueggeman has his own source of inspiration to draw upon when the going gets tough on a training ride. Sure, he thinks about Armstrong and that smooth pedaling action. But when he needs to dig deep it's his wife Miriam's athletic exploits that come to mind.
The Brueggemans got married four years ago. They met via a dating Web site, Match.com.
When he was getting eight months of chemotherapy treatments, she decided to motivate him by training for a marathon herself. She completed the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco in October.
Recalling the event, she said, "The first half was pretty easy, but then it got tough and I wanted to quit. But I thought, 'If he could go through chemo, I can do 26 miles.' "
Now, Darryl Brueggeman finds himself thinking, "If she can do 26 miles, I can do this bike ride."

Meet Jordan!

Jordan is not only an honoree, but he is running on our team too. Hopefully he will be able to run in the CIM Marathon with me! I had the chance to run with him a couple weeks ago at practice and he has such a positive attitude!
He was diagnosed with Leukemia after breaking his leg during a football game when he was a freshman in high school. Even though he was very sick, he managed to keep his grades up and always maintained a positive attitude.
Jordan has been doing really well- last year he completed the Cow Town half marathon and this year he plans on racing in the SF marathon!

Meet Oscar

Oscar
Oscar is a true inspiration! He is currently battling Leukemia and he and his fiancé are members of the walk team! So, even though Oscar is going through cancer treatments he attends all of our practices and will be walking the Nike 26.2 Marathon in October. I count on him for his positive attitude and his enthusiasm.
Oscar is the perfect example of why the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is so important. He was diagnosed just this past winter after he became exhausted during a ski trip. His doctors put him on the new drug Gleevec which has been working well for Oscar so far. The research for drugs like Gleevec is a funded through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Unlike standard chemotherapy agents, these drugs target only cancerous cells and leave normal cells alone. People like Oscar are living much better lives because these types of drugs are now available.

Meet Ryan

Ryan
Ryan is the 15-year old brother of one of my teammates. I don't have a picture of Ryan because he has been hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for several months. Ryan has lost all of his hair and a lot of weight, but he remains strong. We are all keeping Ryan and his family in our prayers hoping that one day they will be able to take Ryan home.

Meet Max

Max
Yesterday I attended a Team in Training pizza party with my honorees. This was the first time I was able to meet Max and his family face to face. Max is three years old and has Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Max is responding very well to treatments. He is such a cute little boy with so much energy. He reminds me of my younger brothers! He has an adorable little sister and a great Mom and Dad. I got to show Max the bracelet I wear in his honor. The bracelet has his picture on it. Max seemed to think that it was pretty cool.