Stacie's Honored Hero

This update on the marathon training is unfortunately one I wish I didn’t have to write. But it is very likely the most inspiring and motivating part of my training.

I found out this weekend that my good friend (and I like to say “mentor”) Celeste’s husband Jeff was just diagnosed with Lymphoma a little over 6 weeks ago. Until now I was strangely able to say that, unlike a large majority of the population, my life had not been touched directly by either Leukemia or Lymphoma. I was one of the few members of the Team In Training program that did not have a personal connection to the dreadful cancers that we are running to hopefully cure.

I let Jeff and Celeste know that they are my new inspiration and official “honored heroes.” In one of Jeff’s first blogs he mentions the treatment that he is going through. He is traveling to Bethesda, from New Orleans, every 21 days for treatment. He is participating in a clinical trial between two long-standing protocols called R-CHOP and DA-EPOCH-R. Jeff’s blog is much more adept at explaining the trial itself, and I listed the web address below so that you can check it out too.

Jeff’s courage and strength to participate in a clinical trial seems to emphasize the importance of the fundraising that Scooter and I are doing. 75 cents of every dollar we raise goes directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for research and patient financial support. And if Jeff is strong enough to sign up for a clinical trial offering two very different approaches at treatment, without know which one he would ultimately be assigned, I think I can find the strength to voluntarily run 26.2 miles.

So this one is officially for Jeff, my Honored Hero!
Jeff is one of the funniest and nicest people that I have ever met, and even reading his “cancer blog” seems strangely uplifting and motivating. You should all check it out at:
http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=jeffreyanding