Earlier this week an MRI turned up a stress fracture that needs roughly 2-4 months of rest to fully heal. Any form of running during that period is strictly against the doctor’s orders. As a result, I have deferred my entry in the Washington, D.C. Marine Corps Marathon until 2012. With a little luck I should be back on the road by next season.

This injury was disappointing, but the important point is that we have exceeded our $2,750 fundraising goal for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, bringing the three-year total to more than $10,000. Your pledges over the years have gone straight to promising research and patient services that have made a difference in many lives.

Rest assured, we will be back next year to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and finish the Marine Corps Marathon. Until then, I have started a regimen of swimming and weight training to stay in shape during the recovery process. Please check back for periodic updates about the 2012 race and any significant medical developments.

Your pledges have provided hope to countless people during some of their darkest moments. Thank you so much for your continued support, and I look forward to seeing you again in the spring.

Sincerely,

Eric Baum

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has set an initial deadline of October 12 for the bulk of our fundraising. We are currently at approximately 33% of our goal and have roughly three weeks to close the gap.

During this period I will step up efforts to contact donors who have backed this effort in 2009 and 2010. It would be a great help if you share this blog with other people who may want to support LLS.

The training for this marathon is starting to take shape. I look forward to another great season and appreciate your continued support.

Sincerely,

Eric Baum

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has awarded separate grants to researchers at Harvard Medical School and University of Cambridge as part of its ongoing efforts to facilitate lifesaving research.

The awards, formally known as Marshall A. Lichtman Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) grants, are both valued at $1.25 million per year for up to five years. SCOR is a research grant program that has generated more than $235 million of funding since 2000. The program facilitates collaborative efforts among leading researchers to produce new therapies for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Harvard’s recipient, Dr. Frederick W. Alt., is engaged in research to learn how B cell lymphomas develop and formulate new therapies to “eliminate these malignant cells.” In addition, Cambridge’s Dr. Anthony Green’s research involves patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). His project, “Genome-Wide Analysis of Drug Response in the Myeloproliferative Neoplasms,” addresses defects in the JAK2 gene that are closely associated with MPNs and affect roughly 200,000 people in the U.S. 

Congress has less than six days to find a compromise that saves the nation’s credit rating, but you don’t have to worry about raising the national debt ceiling. That’s because this marathon fundraising drive is immune to national deficit fights, and it has a triple-A credit rating from Coaches Mike and Sandy, who yelled at me at various points during a 5-mile time trial Tuesday evening (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102025918).  

The underlying financial methodology for this marathon is absolutely sound. The funds you raise are likely to maintain a constant dollar amount because pledges are largely non-refundable. That makes this marathon fundraising effort more secure than shares of News Corp common stock.

So what are you waiting for? The Leukemia & Lymphoma is a wonderful organization and it needs your support. Pledge today, and forward this link to a friend.

Thank you once again for your support,

Eric Baum

It’s no secret that the weather in New York and elsewhere is hazardous to all forms of strenuous outdoor activity. The actual temperature in lower Manhattan just hit 103 degrees. Children in my neighborhood are undoubtedly tapping into fire hydrants at this moment for relief, and our own grandmotherly Mayor Bloomberg on Tuesday morning authorized city officials to open 500 cooling centers.

With this information in mind I have a slight sense of foreboding about the group training session tomorrow morning. The schedule calls for 12 to 13 miles, regardless of the 98-degree forecast. TNT takes every opportunity to temper the effects of exercising on the outer surface of the sun.  Our attentive coaching staff supplies steady streams of emails with handy tips to prevent heat stroke. We will also stay on the shaded roads of Central Park instead of running under the open sun on New York’s West Side Highway.

I have taken to running with a type of “camelback” that delivers almost two liters of water through a tube attached to its chest harness. There is also sun screen, packets of sodium to replace the supply in my body that will sweat out in five minutes and the usual assortment of running gels. There is also a game plan to run at slightly slower speeds and possibly break if confronted with irreversible dehydration – the kind of dehydration we only read about in National Geographic magazines.

There is no shame in admitting to running inside when the temperature rose above 95 degrees yesterday afternoon.

None of these observations help with the initial question. Perhaps the TNT marathon group will soak the blacktop of Central Park in perspiration because the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a great organization. Part of the overall reason may also involve some ego, or commitment to supporting our team mates. Perhaps we’ll never know the real reason, if any root cause actually exists.

Any good wishes and pledges along the way would be greatly appreciated. It’s still July, and August may be even hotter.  

After more than two years, dozens of blog posts and nearly three marathons, a curious person might ask why anyone would go through this much trouble for an organization with barely any name recognition. To answer that question, it is necessary to a look at the broader organization and drill down into some of its unique attributes. (Also, please read the column on far the right-hand side of the blog for additional history and detailed donor instructions.)

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was founded by Rudolph and Antoinette de Villiers to help their son, Robert, who was diagnosed with blood cancer in 1944. Nearly 10 years later, the foundation’s first annual report stated “As of this date, Leukemia is 100% fatal. This is almost a unique situation among the many diseases to which man is susceptible.” To be sure, the foundation’s efforts have made a remarkable difference in reducing the accuracy of that dire statement.

In the ensuing years, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has blossomed into a national network that has helped fund and develop real therapies that now prolong human life. The foundation’s scientific endeavors are matched by philanthropic efforts that include fundamental patient services, such as dedicated programs that help patients understand and cope with their diseases.

Sponsors like you have helped Team in Training, the sports training arm of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, raise and distribute more than $750 million for cancer research since its inception in 1988. A more complete breakdown of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s budget is available below.

I look forward to keeping you apprised of upcoming developments with the Marine Corps Marathon, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and other interesting happenstance in New York.

Where the money Goes:

Research………………………………..25%

Patient & Community Service………33.4%

Public Health Education…………….14.8%

Professional Education………………….3%

Total Program Services………….76.2%

Management & General……………….8.3%

Fundraising……………………………15.5%

Total Supporting Services……….23.8%

LLS receives no federal funding. Because of the continued support from you and and a number of other sponsors, in fiscal year 2010 LLS was able to:

• Invest $72 million, which includes funding for 103 new grants to researchers in academic institutions and $8 million in contracts through the LLS Therapy Acceleration Program

• Support 347 research projects in the United States, Canada and 9 other countries

• Provide financial assistance to patients

• Sponsor scientific conferences around the country

• Produce educational materials and videos

• Run dozens of Family Support Groups nationwide

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has joined forces with Acetylon Pharmaceuticals to promote Phase I/II clinical trials of ACY-1215, a multiple myeloma therapy.

“Based on our preclinical studies, we expect ACY-1215 to demonstrate very potent antitumor activity and a very favorable side effect profile,” said Dr. Ken Anderson, who co-founded Acetylon, and is the Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center Institute.

The agreement includes a commitment from Acetylon to conduct clinical trials of ACY-1215 on adult patients with relapsed forms of multiple myeloma. In addition, the Leukemia will support the trials with $4.85 million of funding that is slated for distribution as a number of criteria are met.

The trials will help determine the effectiveness of ACY-1215, a therapy designed to inhibit an enzyme associated with multiple myeloma and other blood cancers. Dr. Anderson and other researchers involved with these efforts also hope to produce a therapy with fewer harmful side effects than current drug options that target the same enzyme.