Unfortunately I won't be able to do the walk-I have to work that day-but I am planning on going to the dinner. If anyone would like to go with me-let me know.
Pictured in this photo: Tania Stutman, me, Elzy Kolb, Russ Vines. Tania is an amazing woman who is a GIST survivor of over 10 years now, and the one who started the GIST Cancer Research Fund. She was on the first Gleevec trials back in 1999. She started GIST CRF by going-literally-door to door-asking if people would donate money to research-all by herself.
Last year, GCRF raised $700,000 for research-that's a long ways from going door to door!
Elzy, Russ and I met with Tania to see what we could do about helping her with her organization.Tania explained to us, that the biggest hurdle is getting doctors to "look" for GIST. Many times, as was the case with Tania, patients are mis-diagnosed, and that happens because many doctors are unaware that GIST even exists! So our goal is to get the "word out" about GIST. A recent Wall Street Journal article about Gleevec stated that GIST is often times fatal within 15 months of diagnosis. I am an extremely lucky person to be alive, considering my tumor was probably growing inside of me for the past 3-5 years. And I am extremely lucky that the oncologist I went to (and still go to) , the amazing Dr. Forte, knew enough to look for GIST. By the time they figured out what was wrong-it was almost too late-but they got it just in time.
http://www.gistinfo.org/press/gcrf-news/
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