Thursday, September 07, 2006

Bloggers--Help Light the Night

Below you will find a fund raising solicitation letter for all my blogger friends. Later this month I am planning on participating in a Light the Night fund raising activity here in Denver to help raise money for research on blood cancers, such as myeloma. Cancer has touched so many of our lives and sadly, as we get older, it seems to happen more frequently. But, the good news is that we are finding more and more cures as well as discovering new drugs to prolong and enhance the lives of cancer patients.

After five failed chemotherapy regimes, including a failed stem cell transplant, this April my blood cancer levels finally started dropping after I started a new drug combination, velcade with decadron (a steroid). Velcade was approved by the FDA only about 18 months ago. Its success in clinical trials was so impressive that it was fast tracked through the approval process, so patients like me could be given a chance to live. Another drug, revlimid, was also approved around the same time and, should the velcade stop working for me, I will likely be put on a revlimid regime. Not all patients respond to these new drugs. We need more research to develop new drugs.

On Thursday, September 28 The Colorado Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is sponsoring a Light the Night Walk in Washington Park in Denver, to raise money for blood cancer research (leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkins disease and myeloma). My family and I have committed to walk in the event as well as to contribute financially. I am very excited at the prospect of participating in this effort, because a little more than a year ago I could only walk a block, and that required the assistance of a walker.

I am inviting you to walk with me that evening, donate to the cause or do both. A donation of any amount will be greatly appreciated, whether it be $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 or more. You can register to walk and/or to donate by going to my web page which has been set up specifically for this purpose. Go to this site and follow the directions: http://www.active.com/donate/ltnDenver/1785_dpattersonLTN. If you would prefer not to use the credit card pledge, you can instead send checks to me, made payable to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please send any checks them to me at 145 Garfield St., Denver, CO 80206 so I can present them the night of the walk. Donations are tax deductible. For those interested in walking with my team, my team is called simply, "Dan Patterson's Team" (how unimaginative, I know!)

Thank you so much for considering this worthwhile cause.

Love, Dan

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