Leap Into Life!

I survived a 300 foot fall off of the Torrey Pines cliff in La Jolla, CA! Admittedly, I was tethered to a paragliding chute, but I was still terrified, exhilarated and then triumphant.

2009 will be like that cliff that I raced off–full of uncertainty, challenges…but, ultimately, tremendous joy and satisfaction. I am thankful that we are all here now, hopeful for the future and ready to work together to attack the challenges ahead. Together we must overcome a cancer that causes us much pain—physical and mental—and costs us so much—time spent with others, physical stamina, higher health care premiums, and the life we once knew and envisioned for ourselves.

I ask each of you to create your exhilaration. Find that moment that will suspend you high in the air, laughing and in wonder at the beautiful world around you. Then, take that triumph and let it carry you to unite around a common cause – join me to fight for a cure.

I started the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation because I had a vision that one day a patient like me would walk into his/her oncologist’s office and instead of hearing,
“You have an incurable cancer about which we know very little and we have no curative treatments”, patients would hear,
“You have a neuroendocrine cancer. But, because of scientific research, we have a cure.”

When I started the Foundation, many in the carcinoid/NET community said the mission of a cure was unrealistic. But why should a cancer foundation exist if not to find a cure? CFCF persevered with its focused mission and vision, supported by each of you. Three years later, other foundations have joined CFCF in its mission to find a cure and CFCF has accomplished significant steps toward achieving its mission and vision.

In just three short years, the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is proud to have awarded over $4 million—money raised through hard work, partnerships with other prestigious foundations (including the MTH Foundation and the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Fund for the Arts & Sciences) and the invaluable contributions from each of you. The majority of our donations are for $5 and $20—I am grateful for these many, many generous helping hands. Thank you to each hero who has the strength to give up Starbucks or a dinner out for a month to send us those $5 or $20. I am proud that we are a foundation built brick-by-brick with many generous helping hands.

As a result of your support, in 2009, the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is kicking off:

• The CFCF National Bioconsortium that unites

Stanford University (Palo Alto, California),

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center(Houston, Texas),

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY),

Massachusetts General Hospital, and

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA).

• A large-scale genome project that aims to map the carcinoid genome (via a partnership with the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Fund for the Arts & Sciences).
• An American Gastroenterological Association award via CFCF's partnership with the MTH Foundation (http://www.mthfoundation.org/). Click on this link to read more about the award: http://www.fdhn.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=72
  
• A clinical-trial finder for patients—to be launched on the CFCF site in February (sponsored by Novartis Oncology).

CFCF is proud of the many partnerships we forged as we accomplished the major initiatives described above. We believe in positive and transformative collaboration. CFCF is proud to have been recognized by such esteemed institutions listed above. We all recognize that these initiatives will transform the carcinoid/related NET scientific field and provide hope to all patients.

For more information about our scientific advances, the initiatives above or to read our free mailing updates, please e-mail info@caringforcarcinoid.org
Send us your name, e-mail and mailing address to receive free, breaking news about carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors.

When you write us, tell us what CFCF can help you with—because what you struggle with is what others struggle with also.

Are you interested in information on Medicare?
Do you have ideas on what scientific blogs you would like to see written? Would another blog on radiolabeled treatments be helpful? Let us know—we are here to serve you, to give you hope and support when you need it the most.

Let us all commit to 2009 being our year to leap farther than we have before. Let us raise greater awareness of carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors via golf outings, marathons, walks, bake sales, information on our websites, etc. The added benefit of raising awareness is that we also raise funds for much-needed scientific research. This is a tough economic time and so we rely on private philanthropy more than ever.

I appreciate your support.