The Final Countdown – 13 Days To Go

Can you hear the song? “the Final Countdown…” It’s almost time.  Time to race, time to put everything I’ve worked on for the last 6 months together, and complete a personal challenge I never thought I’d ever do.  Less than … Continue reading →

Faster, Leaner, Lighter with 6 Weeks To Go

This gallery contains 4 photos.

So, here I am.  180 pounds light with less than 6 weeks to go until I swim, bike, and run my way across the Hawaiian seascape and landscape.  I’m more fit than I have been in years.  I’ve lost 10 pounds … Continue reading →

82 Days

Hi Everyone,

 

I just thought I’d take the opportunity to update everyone on my training and my fundraising for the Team in Training program in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.  I’ve had such amazing support from my friends, colleagues, and family, and it has been wonderful.  It makes getting up at 8am on a Sunday morning to train with the group actually survivable!  My training is up to 5 days a week now, mixed mostly with running and swimming, though I’ll be biking quite a bit towards the end of the month. 

 

My training to date:

 

Days I have been training: 56
Days to race day: 82
Distance traveled by foot: 100 km
By bicycle: 3 weekly Spin Class
By swimming: 5 km (1 km weekly)
Donations received: 15 (plus a fundraising event)
$ received: $4,120
% of total goal: 69%
$ amount needed to get to 100%: $1,880
Shoulder dislocations since training began: none yet
Ice Packs on my knees after running: 2
Advil taken shortly after: 4 regular or 2 extra strength
Physiotherapist: on speed dial
North Americans with blood cancer: 1.4 million
Canadians diagnosed with blood cancer since my training began: about 2,000
Patients who will not survive: too many
Patients who will survive: not enough.

Help me change that: http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=964942&langPref=en-CA

 

Greg

108 Days

108 days.

It doesn’t seem like very much time to train for something like a triathlon. And it isn’t. So far, with Christmas and my new job, I probably haven’t been as diligent as I need to be over the next few months.

My right knee has been acting up again (IT band problems) and even my shoulders, which I destroyed playing water polo have been giving me some grief lately. My swim is a concern, not for the cardio but more to do with keeping my shoulders moving.

I’m falling apart! My physio and chiro are going to e on speed dial in the new year! Not to mention all of the snowboarding I’m trying to fit in this year!

But I’m doing this for one very important reason. I can. I’m healthy (aside from the injuries!) yet friends are or have fought Blood Cancers and survived. If they can do that, then I can suck it up and get my ass into the water, onto a bike, and pound the pavement. A few Advils here an there, and I should be good to go.

Sundays are my group training days with our trainers and teammate. Always a great day. Mondays are at Spin Class when I can get there from work. Tuesdays I rest. Wednesdays I swim about 800 meters right now, though that will increase soon. Thursdays I do another Spin Class or a short run. Fridays, I rest (and usually drink!). Saturdays I swim again. And back to Sunday’s.

I’m loving it so far and SO much still to do, including more fundraising, more training and more outreach. If you can, there’s a fundraising link to the right of this page. Any donation of any size is very much appreciated!!!

Now, back to stretching and working out these knots from tonight’s spin class!

Enough Said!!!

Rocking out and Kicking Cancer’s Ass

It is on. Like Donkey Kong as a friend of mine used to say.

I spent part of tonight listening to One Year Later, the entertainment for my upcoming fundraiser on November 10 at the Library Square pub.

They rock. Quite literally considering they are playing for free, about to bring out their first CD, and are just a rocking good time.

So make sure you’re there to see a great up and coming band, support an amazing cause and the search for a cure to Blood Cancers, while partying and celebrating among friends.

http://on.fb.me/9JCO0f

SAVE THE DATE: November 10, 2010

Things are coming together very quickly for my planned fundraiser to raise money for the Team in Training triathlon I am taking on.

Click here for more information and the Facebook invitation http://tinyurl.com/37lzvan

Indeed I’ve ben sucked down the wind tunnel remarkably fast. Originally I was planning a January fundraiser, but circumstances have led me to plan on a big party and fundraiser on Wednesday November 10 (the day before remembrance day) so there’s no excuse not to come out and help me raise money to kick cancer’s ass.

The details are still being worked out and the venue is being confirmed (probably the Library Square). But live music, friends and survivors, raffles, 50-50 draws, and hopefully all of you who are reading will be on hand to help me raise money to fight blood cancers while having a great time!

Enough said!

My Friend – The Survivor

Like I needed another reason to raise money for this cause?

My Friend, Melissa, is a survivor of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and is well into her 2nd year in remission, for which I am extremely grateful.

She just sent me the following email:

Many of you know that I am busy fundraising again for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada’s Light The Night Walk on October 16th. 

This is a great fundraiser where people touched by these diseases gather together in Stanley Park to walk in support of loved ones who have been affected. 

Everyone carries a balloon that lights up and glows after dark.  These are to symbolize healthy red blood cells.  It is a very moving and powerful thing to be a part of.  I am proud to be able to carry a white balloon signifying I am indeed a cancer survivor! 

This year the location is Lumberman’s Arch and I would love for you to support me by making an online donation, or even better, join my team “Melissa in Motion!” on my and come out and walk with me.

Here’s where the statistics and information gets scary…

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are the fifth most common cancer for both men and women. The incidence rates have doubled since 1973, especially in young adults, and mortality rates have shown a slower increase.

In fact, what I have such a hard time dealing with is that there is still no known cause for Hodgkin’s disease, a rare lymphoma that affects 3 in 100,000 and is more common in western countries.

(Purple is Lymphoma’s colour)

Hodgkin’s Myths:

People often talk about Hodgkin’s Lyphoma as the “good cancer” or the “curable cancer.” While cure rates for patients diagnosed in the early stages remains relatively high, far too high of a percentage diagnosed even within the early stages experience recurrence.

Patients diagnosed in the later stages experience a much poorer prognosis. In fact, 30-40% of of those diagnosed in later stages, will have either refractory disease that does not respond to treatment, or recurrent disease that reappears after a period of remission.

Hodgkin’s disease affects all ages, but the biggest incidence occurs in those 15-35. For people with refractory or recurrent disease, the only real hope of a cure comes from a stem cell transplant.

However, transplants carry enormous risks and are very difficult to endure requiring lengthy hospital stays. One to two percent of people die within the first 100 days of their transplant. Eventually, 30-50% will relapse again and for them, there is no cure available today, meaning that 3-4 people in the U.S. die each day.

Recent research has primarily been focused on lowering the toxicity of treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation protocols, while producing high cure rates, have left many patients with severe and sometimes fatal long term effects such as secondary cancers, mostly lung, breast, and thyroid cancer, cardiomyopathy, and congestive heart failure, sterility, etc…

Because Hodgkin’s is considered curable by many and affects a relatively small amount of people, about 860 each year in Canada (2003), researchers and drug companies have no incentive to study this disease in search of a cure. Finding a cure depends upon the efforts of people whose lives have been touched and on researchers who care.

Are you still reading?! Just like my infamous travel emails, I want you to learn something new…must be the educator in me. Information courtesy of Alese Coco’s website:  http://www.alesecoco.org/Home.html She passed away in May 2007 from Stage 2A Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the exact same diagnosis as me. This greatly affected me and I gain inspiration from her fight.

Love to you all,xox

Enough Said

A Challenging (but Exciting) Year Ahead

Today is a big day.  I’m leaving one job, taking on a new and exciting job in a couple of weeks.  My volunteer commitments are starting up again (ie Habitat for Humanity), and I’m studying hard for a LEED Certification Exam at the end of the October.

And of course, I’m challenging myself to raise $6000 for Blood Cancer Research and will be training for a Triathlon in April though the training starts this October.  This is something I’m particularly excited about.  It is also something that is somewhat terrifying when you consider the challenge ahead.

Between finding the time to do the training, raise a significant amount of money for a very worthy cause, start a new job and position, while still finding time for my girlfriend, family, and friends, well, it’s going to be a challenge.

Here’s the thing though – this challenge is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I have friends who have fought and survived Cancer, I have friends fighting Cancer right now, and I have lost many people who have been close to me to the scourge of Cancer. 

My challenge, when compared to the greater scheme of things, is more about finding a cure, supporting an amazing cause, and raising awareness about how tragically common Blood Cancers are among young Canadians. 

So, as I move forward with, what is effectively a new phase in my life, I hope I can count on you (the reader!) to support me in this amazing and worthwhile fight as I ‘TRI’ for a cause!

Enough Said

Taking the Plunge: Fighting Cancer 1 Step At A Time

I’ve always been one to challenge myself, physically, and mentally, and with my 32th Birthday coming up soon (November 21 to anyone who wants to know), I’ve decided to take on a new, and monumental challenge. On April 3, 2011, … Continue reading →