To my donors
Aug. 8th, 2011 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jayfurrI sent the following email just now to everyone who has sponsored me in the 3-Day For The Cure since I began walking in 2008. It is both a message of thanks and a reminder that the war against breast cancer is NOT over. I share it here to say thanks to EVERYONE who cares, donates, and takes part.
Thank you.
You are receiving this email because you sponsored me for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure sometime in the last four years... and because I want to ask one further favor of you. But before the favor, I wanted to repeat: Thank you.
Some of you donated on my behalf in 2008 when I walked 60 miles in my first 3-Day walk in Washington DC.
Some donated in 2009 when I wound up walking only 15 miles in Philadelphia because two days of the event were cancelled due to torrential rain, high wind, and temperatures in the low 40s.
Some of you donated in 2010 when I walked 180 miles total in the Twin Cities, Washington DC, and Tampa Bay 3-Day walks.
Some of you have sponsored me THIS year for my upcoming walks in San Francisco and Atlanta.
Thank you.
In the last four years I've raised almost $20,000 for the fight against breast cancer... from you, and people like you. Some of you donated because you've had breast cancer. Others donated because you lost your mom, your sister, your mother-in-law, your friend... or because a friend or a member of your family is still fighting the disease. And some of you donated because you're just good people who care about the wellbeing of others... and in hopes that the next generation -- our daughters and sons -- don't HAVE to fear breast cancer. Or walk to fight it.
Thank you.
The money you donated helped, and will continue to help, in so many ways. The $35 some of you donated could have been used to pay for transportation to a treatment session. The $120 others donated may have paid for a mammogram for someone who can't afford one on her own. The $50 might have helped pay for the costs of a clinical trial to test a new anti-cancer drug. Your donations don't just pay for research, although a full listing of the research advances made possible by your donations would be one long, long list. Your dollars are active on every front in the war against cancer. Education. Treatment. Early detection. And yes, research.
There are women and men alive today who would not have made it if it weren't for the generosity of you and people like you.
Thank you.
In the last week I've gotten some good news and some very bad news. And I wanted to share it with you to remind you how valuable your contributions really are.
First the good news. In a couple of months I'm going to be walking in the Atlanta 3-Day. I'm captain of a team of 29 walkers and crewmembers, "Team Twitter ATL". Our team is made up of 26 women and 3 men... and two breast cancer survivors. One of our survivors, Allie, did a routine self-exam a couple of weeks ago and found, to her horror, that she felt lumps in the same armpit where she'd had her lymph nodes removed. She spent a week reliving the fear and worry of her initial episode of breast cancer. All of us on the team prayed for her and worried with her. Then a PET scan revealed a solid negative: no cancer detected. Allie is overjoyed -- and so are we all... but nonetheless, she was right to check. The odds of her cancer recurring are NOT zero and early detection IS key.
Good news.
Now the bad news. Many of us who take part in the 3-Day are familiar with a young lady, a breast cancer survivor named Bridget who was diagnosed with stage IV cancer... at the age of 21. She was given a 16% chance of surviving until her 30th birthday. She's fought cancer since 2005: aggressive cancer that has metastasized to her liver and other organs. She's been on every drug that's out there and on clinical trial after clinical trial. Clinical trials paid for by Komen research funding... which comes from people like you. (Thank you!) On Friday, she announced on her blog (http://mybiggirlpants.blogspot.com/)that her most recent drug has failed. Her cancer has grown and her 'tumor markers' have increased dramatically. Again. There is another drug they can try her on... a drug that's administered every week, via IV, in treatment sessions that last multiple hours. And the side effects are not inconsequential. Little wonder that she titled her blog entry "A Huge Blow".
No one could blame Bridget for being upset. Sad. Devastated. Angry. But ultimately, Bridget's a fighter and she's not giving up and "getting her affairs in order." Her 30th birthday is in two years and we're all looking forward on celebrating it with her.
Bridget ended her blog post by reminding us that prayers are welcomed, but that research dollars, passion, and activism count for much more. And that's why I wanted to let you know what MY next steps are.
I have raised the $2,300 necessary to walk in the San Francisco Bay Area 3-Day the second weekend in September. I've raised the $2,300 necessary to walk in the Atlanta 3-Day in mid-October. I've actually gone a bit beyond the minimum. Thank you!
But I hereby vow that if I can raise an additional $1678 in my San Francisco 3-Day fundraising account, I will go and walk a third 3-Day city (Philadelphia) the weekend before Atlanta. In order to walk Philadelphia, my total across all cities will have to equal $6900 (or more) and right now my aggregate all-cities total is $5,222. I have set my San Francisco goal to $4,355 – when I reach that amount I will have raised enough across all cities to be able to walk a third.
I know perfectly well that my walking 60 miles in 3 days does not cure breast cancer. But the funds you've donated, and funds you may yet donate in the future, DO. And even though I could spend the weekend of the Philadelphia 3-Day relaxing at home and simply say "$5,222 is enough,"
I could.
But I doubt I'd sleep well at night having made that decision. I want Bridget to make her 30th birthday and I want countless thousands more to never even have to fight the demons she has to fight every day. And the only real, tangible way I can do that is by fundraising and speaking up.
I said at the start of this letter that I wanted to ask a further favor of you. Here's the favor:
Will you help spread the word? If you can post a link to my fundraising page (http://www.the3day.org/goto/jayfurr)on your own blog or Twitter feed or Facebook page -- or email it to your friends, I would be deeply grateful.
If you can afford a further donation, I would be grateful for that as well... but I do not mean to imply that I’m not grateful for what you’ve already given. I know your wallets are not bottomless. I know you care about other causes too. I know other diseases take a huge toll as well. So if you can’t donate again, or don’t wish to, I understand… and I remain grateful for all you have done in the past. And if you can donate again, thank you for that too! My donation page is, as above, http://www.the3day.org/goto/jayfurr
Thank you for contributing in the fight against breast cancer. Each step I walk in San Francisco and Atlanta (… and hopefully in Philadelphia as well) will be in honor of those you care about. In honor of those on whose behalf you donated in the first place. Your friends, your relatives, yourselves.
Thank you.
You are receiving this email because you sponsored me for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure sometime in the last four years... and because I want to ask one further favor of you. But before the favor, I wanted to repeat: Thank you.
Some of you donated on my behalf in 2008 when I walked 60 miles in my first 3-Day walk in Washington DC.
Some donated in 2009 when I wound up walking only 15 miles in Philadelphia because two days of the event were cancelled due to torrential rain, high wind, and temperatures in the low 40s.
Some of you donated in 2010 when I walked 180 miles total in the Twin Cities, Washington DC, and Tampa Bay 3-Day walks.
Some of you have sponsored me THIS year for my upcoming walks in San Francisco and Atlanta.
Thank you.
In the last four years I've raised almost $20,000 for the fight against breast cancer... from you, and people like you. Some of you donated because you've had breast cancer. Others donated because you lost your mom, your sister, your mother-in-law, your friend... or because a friend or a member of your family is still fighting the disease. And some of you donated because you're just good people who care about the wellbeing of others... and in hopes that the next generation -- our daughters and sons -- don't HAVE to fear breast cancer. Or walk to fight it.
Thank you.
The money you donated helped, and will continue to help, in so many ways. The $35 some of you donated could have been used to pay for transportation to a treatment session. The $120 others donated may have paid for a mammogram for someone who can't afford one on her own. The $50 might have helped pay for the costs of a clinical trial to test a new anti-cancer drug. Your donations don't just pay for research, although a full listing of the research advances made possible by your donations would be one long, long list. Your dollars are active on every front in the war against cancer. Education. Treatment. Early detection. And yes, research.
There are women and men alive today who would not have made it if it weren't for the generosity of you and people like you.
Thank you.
In the last week I've gotten some good news and some very bad news. And I wanted to share it with you to remind you how valuable your contributions really are.
First the good news. In a couple of months I'm going to be walking in the Atlanta 3-Day. I'm captain of a team of 29 walkers and crewmembers, "Team Twitter ATL". Our team is made up of 26 women and 3 men... and two breast cancer survivors. One of our survivors, Allie, did a routine self-exam a couple of weeks ago and found, to her horror, that she felt lumps in the same armpit where she'd had her lymph nodes removed. She spent a week reliving the fear and worry of her initial episode of breast cancer. All of us on the team prayed for her and worried with her. Then a PET scan revealed a solid negative: no cancer detected. Allie is overjoyed -- and so are we all... but nonetheless, she was right to check. The odds of her cancer recurring are NOT zero and early detection IS key.
Good news.
Now the bad news. Many of us who take part in the 3-Day are familiar with a young lady, a breast cancer survivor named Bridget who was diagnosed with stage IV cancer... at the age of 21. She was given a 16% chance of surviving until her 30th birthday. She's fought cancer since 2005: aggressive cancer that has metastasized to her liver and other organs. She's been on every drug that's out there and on clinical trial after clinical trial. Clinical trials paid for by Komen research funding... which comes from people like you. (Thank you!) On Friday, she announced on her blog (http://mybiggirlpants.blogspot.com/)that her most recent drug has failed. Her cancer has grown and her 'tumor markers' have increased dramatically. Again. There is another drug they can try her on... a drug that's administered every week, via IV, in treatment sessions that last multiple hours. And the side effects are not inconsequential. Little wonder that she titled her blog entry "A Huge Blow".
No one could blame Bridget for being upset. Sad. Devastated. Angry. But ultimately, Bridget's a fighter and she's not giving up and "getting her affairs in order." Her 30th birthday is in two years and we're all looking forward on celebrating it with her.
Bridget ended her blog post by reminding us that prayers are welcomed, but that research dollars, passion, and activism count for much more. And that's why I wanted to let you know what MY next steps are.
I have raised the $2,300 necessary to walk in the San Francisco Bay Area 3-Day the second weekend in September. I've raised the $2,300 necessary to walk in the Atlanta 3-Day in mid-October. I've actually gone a bit beyond the minimum. Thank you!
But I hereby vow that if I can raise an additional $1678 in my San Francisco 3-Day fundraising account, I will go and walk a third 3-Day city (Philadelphia) the weekend before Atlanta. In order to walk Philadelphia, my total across all cities will have to equal $6900 (or more) and right now my aggregate all-cities total is $5,222. I have set my San Francisco goal to $4,355 – when I reach that amount I will have raised enough across all cities to be able to walk a third.
I know perfectly well that my walking 60 miles in 3 days does not cure breast cancer. But the funds you've donated, and funds you may yet donate in the future, DO. And even though I could spend the weekend of the Philadelphia 3-Day relaxing at home and simply say "$5,222 is enough,"
I could.
But I doubt I'd sleep well at night having made that decision. I want Bridget to make her 30th birthday and I want countless thousands more to never even have to fight the demons she has to fight every day. And the only real, tangible way I can do that is by fundraising and speaking up.
I said at the start of this letter that I wanted to ask a further favor of you. Here's the favor:
Will you help spread the word? If you can post a link to my fundraising page (http://www.the3day.org/goto/jayfurr)on your own blog or Twitter feed or Facebook page -- or email it to your friends, I would be deeply grateful.
If you can afford a further donation, I would be grateful for that as well... but I do not mean to imply that I’m not grateful for what you’ve already given. I know your wallets are not bottomless. I know you care about other causes too. I know other diseases take a huge toll as well. So if you can’t donate again, or don’t wish to, I understand… and I remain grateful for all you have done in the past. And if you can donate again, thank you for that too! My donation page is, as above, http://www.the3day.org/goto/jayfurr
Thank you for contributing in the fight against breast cancer. Each step I walk in San Francisco and Atlanta (… and hopefully in Philadelphia as well) will be in honor of those you care about. In honor of those on whose behalf you donated in the first place. Your friends, your relatives, yourselves.
