Thanks a Million!

(press release from Cycle for Survival)

Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Cycle for Survival Raises More Than $1 Million to Support Research on Rare Cancers

NEW YORK -- January 29, 2009 -- More than 1,500 indoor cyclists and supporters joined together at Cycle for Survival on January 25 to raise more than $1 million in support of research on rare cancers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

The event took place at Equinox fitness club in Midtown and at satellite locations worldwide.

Fundraising surged dramatically just before the event, with participants and donors rallying to raise over $400,000 in the final week. “In the final push, people really came through,” said Jennifer Goodman Linn, event founder and participant. “Cycle for Survival was an inspiring success and an exciting experience -- a day that brought so many people together to support the cause and share their hope for the future. It was truly overwhelming.”

Proceeds from the first two Cycle for Survival events helped underwrite a clinical trial that has led to a new chemotherapy regimen more effective at shrinking tumors in patients with some forms of rare cancer.

Dr. Robert Maki, associate attending physician and co-director of the Adult Sarcoma Program in Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Department of Medicine, acknowledged the need for continued research. “The standard drugs we have used for the first fifty years of the history of medical oncology are toxic and not always particularly effective,” said Maki. “By gaining a better understanding of the basic biology of these types of cancers, we hope to develop more precise treatments that focus on specific targets in the cancer cell...”

more here

bake sales help

interview with Dr. Demetri (Dana-Farber) extracted from article in curetoday.com Winter 2008
.... Another clinical trial hurdle comes in the form of funding. Because of its relatively simple genetics, sarcoma is a good model for studying other cancers, and in the past it was studied at a rate larger than the proportion of cancer patients who have sarcoma. Recently, however, the reverse has been true.

“Just when the country stands most poised to take advantage of 50 years of biomedical research, the funding for cancer research generally is decreasing in real terms, and the funding for sarcoma has been disproportionately hit,” Dr. Demetri says. Although the funding cuts are dispiriting, Dr. Demetri is encouraged by the fundraising efforts of the sarcoma community. “We are blessed with patients and caregivers who recognize that there is a lack at the federal level and are stimulating philanthropy to try to fund our field. Bake sales help,” he says. more here