Support and Inspiration in Memory of LTS

astrophysicsmom · August 23, 2008, 11:12pm

Thanks for continuing the inspiration, epistrophy.

epistrophy · August 26, 2008, 12:15am

“DJ beat lung cancer to go from Worthing school geek to stardom”

FROM a self-confessed “school geek”, to battling lung cancer, to becoming a world-famous DJ and record producer.

High Salvington resident John Fleming has gone from performing at Worthing nightclubs aged just 15 to being respected on the international music stage – but it was not an easy ride.

John, 39, was born in East Preston and moved to Worthing during his teens.

He says he credits his career success to the former St Andrew’s headmaster, Peter Stewart, who encouraged him to get into DJ-ing when he was a pupil at the Sackville Road school in 1985.

School geek

“I was just this geek at school who bought records in my lunch break,” said John.

"The head knew I was into music and asked if I would DJ at a new under-18s night he was organising in Worthing.

“That night turned into a weekly thing.”

From then, Worthing nightclubs began to show an interest and at the age of 15, John was regularly playing at The Factory, now Liquid Lounge nightclub, and Sterns nightclub at Highdown Towers.

“After that, I got requests from clubs all over the country. It was fantastic.”

But aged 20, John was diagnosed with lung cancer, which he says “completely threw my world upside down”.

Cancer battle

"I had this amazing career taking off as a DJ and then I was told I probably wouldn’t survive the cancer and ended up in hospital for a year.

“I had to turn my back on music and concentrate on recovering.”

John had chemotherapy and eventually the cancer went into remission.

After three difficult years, John felt ready to get back into DJ-ing.

“But it was too late,” he said.

"I’d missed the boat because the dance music scene had changed so much during my illness.

“It had become massive but I was out of touch with it. I felt cheated. I had this amazing life and now it had all been taken away from me.”

Hard work

Determined not to let lung cancer ruin his career, John persisted with DJ-ing while working one day a week for a Findon motor dealer.

“I was struggling with money and drove an old clapped-out VW Campervan around,” he said.

"It didn’t happen overnight and it took a lot of hard work, but in 1994 I managed to persuade Brighton’s Zap club owner to let me DJ for free for two weeks before he offered me a permanent residency there.

“The rest is history.”

John “00” Fleming, as he is known in the DJ world, is predominantly a trance music DJ.

Euphoria

He now travels all around the world, performing at weekends, and returns to his High Salvington home during the week, where he produces records for artistes including Muse, Simple Minds and Gloria Estafan.

He has gold discs decorating the walls of his studio and currently mixes and produces CDs including the popular Euphoria compilation albums, and rubs sholders with the likes of DJs Carl Cox, originally from Horsham, and Brighton’s Fat Boy Slim.

***John added: "After suffering life-threatening cancer, I wanted to make every day of my life count.

“I hope my story goes to show with a bit of strength and determination you can succeed even in the toughest of times.”***

Top 100

For the 10th year in a row, John is hoping to be named as one of the 100 top DJs in the world.

The DJ magazine poll is an annual poll which allows people to vote for any DJ they think should be recognised, from local DJs to the most famous and internationally respected.

“I’m looking to get as much support from my home-town as possible,” said John.

“After all, this is where it all started.”

To vote for John, log onto [DJmag.com:</a> Dance Music News, Downloads, DJ Interviews, Clubbing, Charts, Mixes, DJ Technology](<a href=“http://www.djmag.com%5DDJmag.com:”>http://www.djmag.com) – voting closes on September 24.

[DJ</a> beat lung cancer to go from Worthing school geek to stardom - Littlehampton Today](<a href=“http://www.littlehamptongazette.co.uk/worthing-news/DJ-beat-lung-cancer-to.4420409.jp]DJ”>http://www.littlehamptongazette.co.uk/worthing-news/DJ-beat-lung-cancer-to.4420409.jp)

mikasauntie · August 26, 2008, 11:42am

Adding my thanks to Epistrophy for continuing to post the quotes and links.

epistrophy · August 26, 2008, 7:02pm

Lung Cancer Survivor - Tony Stanley

Tony Stanley has lived his dreams for his entire life: First as a pilot with the United States Air Force, and then as a commercial airline pilot. Married with a teenaged daughter, Tonys life is as good as it gets, except for being diagnosed with lung cancer that is.

I was never a smoker, Tony says. Although, my parents were lifetime smokers and I lived with them, like most kids, until I went to college.

Tony was 45 in November 2005 went he went to see a general practitioner for what he thought might be a bronchial infection. When youre flying a great deal in airplanes with re-circulated air, its common to pick up coughs, colds, and other bronchial infections, he says.

He went in for antibiotics, but the doctor, whom hed never seen before, wanted to make sure Tony didnt have pneumonia and X-rayed his lungs.

The doctor saw a tumor there and sent me to get a CT scan right then and there. What that revealed was an 8.5 centimeter tumor in my left lung, Tony says. The doctor said it could be benign, but he said it was most likely cancer. Except for his feeling like he had a bronchial infection, Tony had no other symptoms. The doctor told Tony that was not an uncommon thing. 

A biopsy revealed that Tony had metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: Adenocarinoma of the lung. A PET scan (positron emission tomography) showed the extent of the cancers spread, which was throughout his lungs and most of his body. 

I went to see an oncologist and it was a really grim place. Tony says. The doctor wasnt up front with me initially, and when he finally got around to telling me I had Stage-4 disease that was incurable, Id already decided to go to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

Tony hustled to get all of his scans and medical files for an appointment with SCCAs Dr. Keith Eaton the very next day.

I wanted to go where people are studying this stuff, Tony says. I love that SCCA doctors are researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Medicine. If there is something new in their area of expertise, the doctors at SCCA will know about it first. They are very proactive at looking for and conducting new treatment protocols and investigational studies.

Tony faced some tough choices. What was I going to do if I cant be cured? he asks. The initial oncologist told me to go to Seattle because he could only keep me alive for nine to 13 months using standard protocol. He also told me that they [the doctors at SCCA] can use experimental drugs. Youre too young not to try and get involved with the experimental studies, he told me.

Sometimes, people cant be cured of their illness when they have caner, but they can live meaningful lives with their disease, if it is managed with medications and other types of interventions. Tony chose the method that would give him the best quality of life he could have every day, for as long as his life happened to be.

I did this for my daughter. He says. I want to see her grow up. I want to be here for her as long as I can.

The type of cancer Tony has is inoperable. If they tried to surgically remove the cancer, which is all over my body, it would just grow back, Tony says.

So, after numerous treatments with the standard chemotherapy agents (which had considerable results considering the circumstances, Tony says), Dr. Eaton and Dr. Renato Martins enrolled Tony into a clinical trial testing a drug called IPI-504 to manage his cancer symptoms, of which he didnt even really have, and to hopefully reduce the size of his tumors; or, at least stop their growth.

Before starting chemotherapy, brain scans were taken to see if his Tonys cancer had metastasized to the brain. And it had. Four lesions were found on his brain, so in-between chemotherapy treatments Tony received Gamma Knife Surgery at Harborview Medical Center, under the direction of Dr. Jason Rockhill, UW Medicine radiation oncologist.

Even though the Gamma Knife Surgery was successful in stopping the brain lesions, a while later, Tony began to experience numbness in his arm. Dr. Daniel Silbergeld, UW Medicine neurosurgeon, decided Tony was actually having small seizures, and he removed a metastatic lesion from the left parietal region of Tonys brain.

I was awake for the surgery from a point after Dr. Silbergeld opened my skull until just before he closed it, Tony recalls. The tumor was near the motor center of my brain and they were mapping a path into the brain during the surgery so I wouldnt lose any functionality of my body. After the surgery, the seizures went away with no loss of function.

Under the treatment regimen of the clinical trial, Tony receives an investigational drug twice a week. The first scan after I began treatment saw a reduction in the tumor size, Tony says. Having eight weeks of no growth or an actual reduction in size is great news a big victory.

Despite his easy-going style and strong sense of humor, Tony admits that this diagnosis in the prime of his life hit him and his family very hard. Its tough on all of us, he says. Now retired from his airline job and the Air Force, Tony is on disability. I cried in my beer for a while, and considered running away to Tahiti, but this is where I really want to be, with my family. I have been able to live my dreams my whole life, and Ive lived a great life. Tony adds: It is what it is youre dealt the cards you have in life and you just play them the best you can.

With daily moral support from his airline friends and family members who call him everyday, Tony ignores statistics. You dont know where YOU will be in that curve of theirs, he says. Quoting an article he read, Tony says, You cant quantify having a sanguine personality. Not stressing out and keeping as productive as possible will serve you better in the long run, he says.

Thanks to SCCA, Tony feels confident that he has the best quality of life he can have, considering his condition. I love how SCCA folks all work together in such a collaborative way. If something happens today for some new treatment, SCCA will know about it. Thats important to me.

<a href=“Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center”>Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center;

ADad · August 26, 2008, 11:22pm

–Marcus Aurelius

timely · August 27, 2008, 1:49pm

Dr. Jonas Salk

epistrophy · August 31, 2008, 6:42pm

“A sweet bike ride: Chocolate Chase is boon to cancer survivors”

It’s all about the joys of living, not dying, for the members of TEAMSurvivor Madison.

That’s why more than 200 Madison area female cancer survivors, along with their friends, families and supporters, biked four miles, 10 miles or 20 miles on a picture-perfect Saturday morning for the group’s second annual Chocolate Chase fundraiser.

All rides began and ended at Pioneer Park, west of Madison in the town of Middleton, and included several rest stops where chocolate and water were available for the bikers, who included women, men and children of all ages and biking abilities.

“This is a fun event and a good cause for anyone affected by a woman’s diagnosis of cancer,” said Marilyn Bauer, secretary of the local group.

***“We love being part of this because the focus is on health and life, not cancer and dying,” Susan Smedley Gerber, Fitchburg, explained as she and two friends paused for a break of chocolate chip cookies and cold water during their ride.

Smedley Gerber recently observed the 10th anniversary of surviving lung cancer by training and participating in a triathlon. On Saturday she rode with her friends, Sandy Schick, a seven-month cancer survivor who celebrated her 50th birthday on Friday, and Sally Hollman, a five-year breast cancer survivor.***

TEAMSurvivor Madison encourages women living with cancer to become physically active. The group, which is the local affiliate of a national nonprofit organization, helps provide free or low-cost fitness activities and health education programs for women with a past or present diagnosis of cancer.

Caroline Greenwald and Jennifer Seaman, both of Madison, are cancer survivors who were volunteering for the event, passing out chocolate and water at one of the rest stops.

“For women who have gotten a diagnosis of cancer, or who are going through the most horrendous treatments, it’s just this incredible relief to be able to go somewhere and exercise with a bunch of other women who know what you’re going through,” Greenwald explained.

“But we actually don’t focus on the disease. You kind of check your cancer at the door, and that feels great,” Seaman added.

According to the group’s president, Diane Stojanovich, last year’s event attracted about 100 participants, and this year the number of riders was close to twice that, with 150 pre-registered riders and an additional 50 participants who signed up on Saturday.

The major corporate supporter for the Chocolate Chase is the Trek bicycle company.

For more information about TEAMSurvivor, go to [Team</a> Survivor Madison > Welcome!](<a href=“http://www.teamsurvivormadison.com%5DTeam”>http://www.teamsurvivormadison.com).

[news:</a> A sweet bike ride: Chocolate Chase is boon to cancer survivors](<a href=“captimes.com | The Capital Times: Madison WI News”>captimes.com | The Capital Times: Madison WI News)

<hr>

“A rare survival story in a brush with a rare and deadly cancer”

Dying was not an option, Heather Von St. James says as her 3-year-old daughter, Lily, rushes in and out of the dining room, climbing on her lap, then dashing off again.

But dying was a terrifying possibility when doctors found a lump the size of an orange in Von St. James’s left lung when Lily was only 3 months old. The diagnosis was mesothelioma – a rare and often fatal form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Now, just over 2 1/2 years after undergoing radical surgery to remove her left lung, the lining around her heart, half of her diaphragm, her sixth rib and a few lymph nodes to be on the safe side, all traces of the cancer are gone.

“I claim cured,” says Von St. James.

Dr. David Sugarbaker, who heads the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, said Von St. James is a shining example of the progress he is beginning to see in the fight against a disease that traditionally carried a maximum survival of 12 to 18 months.

“I am the poster child for hope after meso,” the 39-year-old Roseville woman said.

Sugarbaker, who treated Von St. James, is only slightly more circumspect. “What I can say is that right now in this present moment she is disease-free,” he said.

About 2,000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Unusually high rates of the disease have been reported among men from Minnesota’s Iron Range since the late 1980s. The state Department of Health has so far identified 59 cases among mine workers and is planning a study with the University of Minnesota aimed at determining what might have caused the illness.

Sugarbaker said the disease has a 20- to 35-year latency period and traditionally has been diagnosed in people with direct exposure to asbestos, but doctors are seeing more patients with secondhand, nonoccupational exposure.

Von St. James believes her cancer was caused by childhood exposure to her father’s asbestos-covered work clothes. Rollie Rosedahl, 66, of Spearfish, S.D., was a construction laborer for Ainsworth-Benning while Heather was growing up. Many of the products he worked with contained asbestos.

Von St. James said she was “a total daddy’s girl” and often would shrug into her father’s boots and coat to feed the rabbits they kept out back. “In that day and age it was just dust,” she said. “We didn’t know what it contained.”

In December 2006, Von St. James sued Ainsworth-Benning and a dozen other companies, primarily manufacturers of the products that contained asbestos, in Ramsey County District Court. But last month, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that she can’t sue Ainsworth-Benning in Minnesota, saying the company doesn’t have enough of a connection to the state.

Von St. James’ attorney, Jessica Dean, said the suit was supposed to go to trial in September but was put on hold pending the Appeals Court ruling. Dean said she will ask the court to set a trial date, either for December or March.

‘Is it cancer?’

The then-Heather Rosedahl moved to the Twin Cities in April 1998. Two months later she met Cameron Von St. James and it was “love at first sight.” They married 10 months later and moved into his childhood home in Roseville to help his mother care for his ailing father. She managed an upscale salon in Minnetonka.

Just after Thanksgiving 2004, they learned she was pregnant. Von St. James gained only 5 pounds, but said her doctor wasn’t concerned because “I’d always been a little on the larger side,” she said. She noticed more pressure under her left breast and was short of breath but figured that was normal. Lily Rose Von St. James was born by C-section on Aug. 4, 2005.

Although Von St. James was exhausted when she returned to work part-time in August, she chalked it up to being a new mom. By October, when she returned full-time, she felt “like a truck was parked on my chest,” she said.

Her shortness of breath worried her doctor. He ordered blood work, then a chest X-ray that showed fluid around her left lung.

“I said, ‘Is it cancer?’” Von St. James recalled. “He goes, no, no, no, it can’t be cancer. He thought it was pneumonia or something.”

But the doctor was concerned enough to send her that afternoon to United Hospital in St. Paul to have the fluid drained and a CT scan performed.

"They sit me in this cold little waiting room and he [the doctor] comes back in and says, ‘They found a mass.’

The next day, she returned for a needle biopsy. Pathologists sent the sample to the Mayo Clinic. On Nov. 21, Von St. James and her husband found themselves in Dr. James Flink’s office at United Hospital.

“What you have is a cancer called mesothelioma,” she recalled the doctor saying. “My husband said, ‘Oh that’s bad. That’s the asbestos cancer.’”

Flink gave her options: Do nothing and live maybe 15 months, try chemotherapy and radiation and probably live five years, or go see Dr. Sugarbaker in Boston.

“My husband without blinking says get us to Boston,” she said.

Von St. James underwent surgery on Feb. 2, 2006, was in the hospital for 18 days and stayed in Boston for a month. When Von St. James left Boston, she moved in with her parents for two months. In May, she returned home and began chemotherapy – every three weeks for 12 weeks.

This October will mark two years since the end of the treatments. Von St. James still goes to Boston every four months for a CT scan, but so far, the cancer has not returned.

“I’m going to be the first meso patient to live 50-plus years. I told my doctor he would retire before I did,” she said. “And he’s OK with that.”

[A</a> rare survival story in a brush with a rare and deadly cancer](<a href=“http://www.startribune.com/local/east/27512374.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciatkEP7DhUsr]A”>http://www.startribune.com/local/east/27512374.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciatkEP7DhUsr)

<hr>

“Cancer - up close”

During September and October there is always much more attention paid to cancer. Its the month where many high profile fundraisers take place to raise funds for cancer research and to assist families who are struggling with treatments and travel.

But, for the patient who is battling the illness, and for their family members, there is no season for cancer. There is only the day-to-day knowledge of how best to live with it. And how best to live after it.

***My 80-year-old Dad is a 29-year cancer survivor. After overcoming prostate cancer in 1979, he went on to defy terminal lung cancer that was diagnosed in 1981.

Five years ago he had a cancerous lesion removed and although he is no longer robust due to other heart and thyroid ailments, he made the road trip north in July for our sons wedding.***

Cancer plucks randomly from lifes stage. And for each patient the road from discovery to recovery is as varied as the patient itself. You become symptomatic, you identify the problem to your family doctor, you get a diagnosis, you seek treatment, you recover from treatment - and you can walk away. But, no one walks unharmed. Cancer changes lives forever.

Cancer infiltrates workplaces, classrooms, the coffee shop, the delivery room and the retirement lodges.

There is no spray, no antidote, no guarantee against cancer. There are modalities of life to choose and there are places, foods, lifestyles and workplaces to avoid, but nothing is a promise against the disease. Its not a complete crap-shoot, but, one in three will be affected by it.

On September 11, 1981 my Dads lung cancer was confirmed. What had been referred to as a shadow, a lump and a poor X-ray now was called a large fist-shaped tumour almost in the center of his chest. The inoperable tumour which involved much of his right lung had spread to his lymph glands - his prognosis was a bleak three months.

He underwent experimentally high radiation and chemotherapy treatment and by June of 1982, and 45 pounds lighter, he was given the all clear to return to work. Dads indomitable strength in combination with a vitamin regime were undeniable contributing factors in his recovery. He enjoyed his 80th birthday last March and he and Mom will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on October 1.

The cancer gene has built a tenacious nest in our family tree. While other family members around him succumbed to the same type of cancer (albeit a different strain) my Dad has outlived a brother, his mother-in-law, and a sister-in-law who all died of lung cancer. My mothers remaining youngest sister is a four year survivor of breast cancer as is my brother Steve who is a nineteen year survivor.

As the months of September and October arrive, it is with much necessity that we all do our part to raise awareness about cancer and to raise funds against it.

<a href=“http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/ominecaexpress/community/27389504[/url]”>Error;

<hr>

“Artist with cancer resurrected with Pollock grant”

I love a black line, says artist Paul Jansen strolling through his South Street Seaport painting studio, surrounded by tables topped with brushes, acrylic tubes, colored markers, and canvases covered with seven to eight coats of silky smooth white enamel. Huge and small paintings hang from the white walls, nearly all swathed with squiggly black lines.

Im adding dimension which wasnt allowed in the original abstract expressionism, he says, pointing out the depth that can be seen in his paintings. Ive always been attracted to the style. Very organic. Slap paint on then brush or squeegee it off.

My paintings have been very passive, not very dramatic, relatively lyrical, he says, adding almost wistfully, then I got sick.

***Jansen, 64, was diagnosed with lung cancer a year and a half ago, which spread into his adrenal glands. After several operations, chemo treatments and bouts with pneumonia, hes battling back and recently gained nearly 15 pounds. Im on chemo for life.until a miracle comes through the door.

His body has responded well his tumors are shrinking and his test numbers are strong. His prognosis is good for now. But until recently its been a struggle to paint.

Then he learned a few weeks ago that he will be awarded a Pollock-Krasner grant this week for emerging and established artists who face obstacles to creating their art.

Cancer is one, he says with a wry laugh. Cancer has resurrected my art career.***

Lee Krasner, widow of artist Jackson Pollock and a recognized abstract expressionist painter in her own right, established the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in 1985 to give financial help to working artists. Since then, more than $46 million has been given to artists in nearly 70 countries, according to the foundation Web site. The grant is intended to support the artists artistic or personal expenses for 12 months and this year averaged about $15,000.

After cancer, Ive become more animated in my application of paint, he says of how he plies on the black then, with handmade rubber squeegee-like brushes, swirls, swoops and glides the paint into what looks like wavy layers of ribbons. I live to keep painting.

Color has seeped into his canvases, first subtly with soft pastels and now with bold, dramatic orange reds. He adds the color after the black painted ribbons have dried with markers or by brush. Finally he applies hundreds of thin, mini crosshatches in some paintings for added depth.

Id say Im re-creating abstract expressionism in a cartoonist way, he adds with a flourish. More aggressive, dramatically so. I see anger, frustration, more joy coming through than I did before.

Born in Boston, Jansen grew up in Stamford, Conn., the second son of a merchant marine sea captain and a housewife. When his father returned from sea and later retired, he spent his time painting and woodcarving.

My father was self-taught, quite the craftsman with his hands. He painted until he was in his eighties and was a member of the Stamford Art Association. There wasnt a member of our church who didnt have one of his paintings. He did these three-by-two cubist-style abstracts.

But my mom claims my artistic talent came from her, he says with a laugh. She started painting at 16 and was pretty accomplished.

Jansen started his artistic way by copying Mad Magazine then evolved into his Escher-esque drawings. He dreamed of being a pinstriper of hot cars. I was good at monogramming. Lousy with a straight line.

Like most teenagers in Stamford in the 60s and today Jansen knew more about what was happening in New York City than in his hometown. He made frequent treks to the Big Apple to hang out and visit museums.

After a stint in the Navy, Jansen returned to the city where he graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a fine arts degree. He received many postgraduate awards and established himself as a freelance illustrator.

But his big break came when he was named resident artist at Jimi Hendrix Electric Lady Recording Studios where his brother John worked as recording engineer. Jansen was designing the offices while Hendrix was on his last worldwide tour.

I never got to meet him, he says of the guitar legend, who tragically died in September 1970. He was in England and never made it back.

But Jansen does have a lasting connection to Hendrix. He did the cover art on two posthumous albums, War Heroes, (1972) a stippling-effect black and white portrait, and Loose Ends, (1974), a muted photorealistic triplex.

A longtime Downtown resident, Jansen and Delores, his wife of nearly 20 years, and stepdaughter Ashley Pickett, moved from Soho to Ann St. where they were living on 9/11. Soon after they made the move east a few blocks to Dover St.

Its much more of a neighborhood, he says, noting that hes made many connections as a co-coordinator of the Fish Bridge Dog Run at Pearl and Dover Sts. (Full disclosure: this reporter is one of the other co-coordinators). The familys French bulldog Petunia is a tiny terror with a rubber ball.

Through a dog run connection, last year, Jansen painted a skateboard to raise money for breast cancer research. He was in good company. Robin Williams and Julian Schnabel were two of the other nearly 50 artists involved.

And another dog run connection led to a unique Downtown exhibition space, the Salon 2B hair salon at 80 Nassau St.

What Im painting now, I saw in a dream after I read a book on Franz Kline, he says of the abstract expressionist best known for his black and white paintings. Less curves. Take a risk with more color. More dimension.

And, like Kline, more action.

[Artist</a> with cancer ‘resurrected’ with Pollock grant](<a href=“http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_278/artistwithcancer.html]Artist”>http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_278/artistwithcancer.html)

ADad · September 2, 2008, 10:23pm

–Ernest Shackleton

aibarr · September 2, 2008, 11:48pm

I like that one, ADad.

ADad · September 3, 2008, 12:16am

Thank you. :)

epistrophy · September 4, 2008, 7:54pm

“Fundraising To Fight Lung Cancer Tops $400,000 At Strides For Life 5K”

They rose bright and early on Sunday and stepped out onto the streets of Southampton with a bounce in their step. In all, 700-plus toed the starting line. Meanwhile, Laurie Carson, founder of the Lung Cancer Research Foundation and coordinator for the Third Annual Strides For Life Three-Mile Fun Run/Walk, ushered in the day, and once the pitter-patter of feet dissipated as the race participants turned onto Jobs Lane, she took it all in.

Could you pinch me? she asked rhetorically.

In three years of Strides For Life racing, the Lung Cancer Research Fund (LCRF) has raised roughly $1.3 million, a figure that Carson couldnt fathom if she didnt watch with her own eyes to see the mob of runners and walkers surging through the village. 

Its really beyond my wildest dreams, Carson said. I would have never imagined we would have been able to raise such a significant amount of money. Its wonderful. It wasnt me alone; we have a lot of loyal supporters, participants and volunteers. Everybodys behind it.***

Angel Rojas, who won the Strides race last summer, repeated as champion, and did so by eclipsing his time from a year ago. The Hampton Bays resident blazed his way to victory in 16 minutes, 23 seconds, a time he was pleased it considering his training regimen.

Somehow I did it, Rojas said. Ive been training, but I really havent had enough time to train hard.

Rojas said he generally doesnt have a specific time in mind, and that was the case on Saturday when he was barreling around Lake Agawam and up Pond Road to the finish line. He pushed when he felt he could, and stepped it down a notch when necessary. More often than not, he had that extra gear.

Another familiar face hit the tape to garner top honors in the womens division. East Quogues Tara Farrell took third place overall with a time of 17:21, finishing just behind second-place Jonathan Farnham. Last month, Farrell put up a strong performance along a similar track; the 29-year-old finished second in the longer Firecracker 8K, which also steered along the shore before weaving back toward the center of town.

Among the kids, Connor Gibson was the top finisher, clocking a time of 20:06. His sister, Katie, was first across the line among 18-and-under females.

Rosanna Scotto, co-anchor of FOX 5 News in New York, was on hand to run as well as serve as honorary chairman. Her father-in-law, Dominic Ruggiero, died of lung cancer in January; Scotto ran as part of the omnipresent Team Caryl, as well as Team Shado. Scotto smiled and waved to the crowd as she crossed the finish line just under the 48-minute mark.

Im so happy that we raised all this money and so many people came out to support it, Scotto said. It goes to show how important it is to so many people that they would get up early on a Sunday morning to be here. What a way to enjoy a beautiful day.

Scotto spoke briefly before the start of the race, and cut the tape along with three-time lung cancer survivor Lorette Pucylowski. Two years ago, Pucylowski delayed her surgery one day so she could participate in the inaugural Strides For Life; in its third year, she is cancer-free. 

Thanks to the efforts of over 700 runners and walkers, the third installment of the Strides For Life 5K raised over $400,000 for lung cancer research.

The LCRF, to which all monies are given, offers ten $50,000 grants to researchers whose concentration is on lung cancer, which Carson calls overlooked and underfunded despite the fact that approximately 213,000 cases will be diagnosed this year in the United States alone. Also, because of its low survival rate, its smaller grassroots support system pales in comparison to cancer of the breast and prostate. To gain consideration for a grant, researchers detail the kind of work theyll be investigating in their proposal, and a medical advisory board grades its scientific merit based on the National Institute of Health guidelines.

***Its very important for young investigators and even senior scientific advisors to get that money and to be able to study a particular concept or a hypothesis that will hopefully lead to an advance in the treatment of lung cancer, Carson said.

Carson estimated that roughly 720 runners and walkers took part, many of whom were part of the 15 teams who were out in force. The turnout, she said, embodies the movement to find a cure.

Thats what its all about team spirit, she said. Were remembering people who lost the battle, and everyone coming together for one cause. Its not about one individual.***

[Fundraising</a> To Fight Lung Cancer Tops $400,000 At Strides For Life 5K - Southampton, NY - Hamptons.com](<a href=“Home - Hamptons.com”>Home - Hamptons.com)

epistrophy · September 5, 2008, 9:09pm

A favorite quote, one that I may have already posted somewhere else on CC, but that in any event doesn’t lose anything from repetition:

–Henry James

[Henry</a> James - Wikiquote](<a href=“http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_James]Henry”>Henry James - Wikiquote)

laxmom · September 8, 2008, 3:49pm

My favorite quote is:
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”
George Washington Carver.

somemom · September 8, 2008, 5:18pm

bumping above the moved threads, no brilliant quotes to ad

3innest · September 8, 2008, 6:55pm

one of my favorites
Hard work beats good talent when good talent stops working hard

timely · September 8, 2008, 7:16pm

[The</a> Rugged Elegance Inspiration Network: Red Wine, an Anti-Lung Cancer Drink Thanks to Tannins & Resveratrol Says Study from Spain](<a href=“http://www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/003193.html]The”>http://www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/003193.html)

Red Wine, an Anti-Lung Cancer Drink Thanks to Tannins & Resveratrol Says Study from Spain
On Wednesday, Professor Juan Barros-Dios, Ruano-Ravina and research colleague Adolfo Figueiras, affiliated with the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, published their recent research study in the scientific journal Thorax which states that drinking red wine could protect against lung cancer. 

The effects of wine drinking were studied in 132 people with lung cancer and 187 people in the hospital for non-tobacco related minor surgery. 

In the Santiago de Compostela district of northwestern Spain, the research team examined the effects of different types of wine on lung cancer. Lung cancer was chosen because it is the most common and deadly form of the disease. 

“Consumption of red wine … was associated with a slight but statistically significant reduction in the development of lung cancer,” said research team leader Professor Juan Barros-Dios. 

Barros-Dios credits tannins and resveratrol, substances found in red wine. 

Tannins act as antioxidants, which mop up free radicals – particles harmful to cells. 

Resveratrol is known to fight cancer tumor growth. 

He said these two properties could explain the drink’s anti-cancer effects. 

On the flipside, Barros-Dios said in the journal, “In terms of the daily number of glasses, white wine appeared to increase the risk.” 

While only thirty-nine white wine drinkers were studied, the scientists concluded the increased risk from drinking white wine was because of the ethanol it contained. 

The increased risk from drinking white wine was very slight.

They explained that all wine contains the chemical ethanol, which is a gene mutator, but in red wine the anti-lung cancer benefits outweighed possible gene damage from the ethanol. 

However, Barros-Dios was mindful to point out the latest World Health Organization figures which state that 1.2 million people were killed in 2000 by binge drinking. He said, “It would be extremely risky – and even dangerous – for recommendations to be drawn up endorsing high consumption of red wine for the prevention of lung cancer.” 

Research colleague Dr. Alberto Ruano-Ravina said the aim of the study was to investigate red wine’s anti-cancer components, not determine how much wine would ward off cancer. 

From here, Barros-Dios, Ruano-Ravina and research colleague Adolfo Figueiras will continue their studies using lab animals.

question_quest · September 8, 2008, 8:14pm

A video/news report on lung cancer in former/never smokers…

[At</a> Risk For Lung Cancer Video - CBSNews.com](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4401751n#ccmm]At”>http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4401751n#ccmm)

ADad · September 11, 2008, 9:22am

–Marine saying

ADad · September 22, 2008, 9:42am

–Rachel Carson

aibarr · September 22, 2008, 1:23pm

The best teacher I ever had died of lymphoma on Saturday. He used to have a little poem that he’d recite in a loud, proclamatory manner, in his New York Jewish twinge, to the lot of us twittery high-strung junior-year pre-cal girls (brave man!). When I heard about his diagnosis, I sent the poem back to him in a thank-you note:

Never ceases to bring a smile to my face in times of trouble. Godspeed, Dubs.

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