Marathon by the Kilometer

Let me start off by saying it is not natural to run a marathon. Your body is not built for it. Why, then, am I taking on this incredible journey? Because after running a marathon what isn't possible? I run to be strong, I run to be free but most of all I run to be invincible!

I am asking for sponsorship by the kilometer. I'm hoping to find people to sponsor each of the 42.195km that I'm about to embark on. I'm asking for $25/kilometer. For this I will write your name on my body. You'll be with me as I embark on this journey, cause let's face it, I'm going to need 42.195 people with me to help me cross that finish line!!

please sponsor 1 or more kilometers Thanks friends!!

Bone Marrow Tweet Up

On April 27th, 2012 after 7pm standard eastern time we are hosting a tweet up on twitter to educate and encourage people to join the Bone Marrow Registry.

Why? You ask? Fewer than 30 per cent of patients who need stem cell transplants find a compatible donor within their own family. The rest rely on those who have volunteered to donate stem cells to anyone in need.

What is a tweet up? Using twitter and hashtag #SwabUp and/or #MarrowMatch we will educate, share stories and spread the word about the importance of signing up for the registry.

In Canada all the information can be found HERE

In the US all the information can be found HERE

Myths & Facts about Bone Marrow Donation

MYTH:

All bone marrow donations involve surgery. FACT:

The majority of donations do not involve surgery. Today, the patient's doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is non-surgical. The second way of donating is marrow donation, which is a surgical procedure. In each case, donors typically go home the same day they donate.

MYTH: Donating is painful and involves a long recovery.

FACT: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of donating PBSC. Due to taking a drug called filgrastim for five days leading up to donation, PBSC donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches, or fatigue. PBSC donors are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days. Those donating marrow receive general or regional anesthesia, so they feel no pain during donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for one to two weeks afterward. Most marrow donors are back to their normal activities in two to seven days.

MYTH: Donating is dangerous and weakens the donor.

FACT: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely any long-term side effects. Be The Match® carefully prescreens all donors to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them. We also provide support and information every step of the way. Because only five percent or less of a donor's marrow is needed to save the patient's life, the donor's immune system stays strong and the cells replace themselves within four to six weeks.

MYTH: In bone marrow donation, pieces of bone are removed from the donor.

FACT: No pieces of bone are taken during marrow donation. Only the liquid marrow found inside the pelvic bone is needed to save the patient's life.

MYTH: Donors have to pay to donate.

FACT: Donors never pay to donate. We reimburse travel costs and may reimburse other costs on a case-by-case basis.

I hope to see you all at the tweet up! I'm @stephanieruns on twitter. Hashtag #SwabUp #MarrowMatch

Have I gone Insane?

It's been a while...I know. After my half marathon I started getting knee pain during and after running. It took me a while to admit that I trained to hard for my half marathon and over training caused me to get injured. I'm still recovering from my half marathon. Icing, taping, using a soft brace for my knee. As a runner it's hard to stop. Running is much like smoking, an addition, a need, a part of you. Which is why I decided I needed it to play a bigger role in my life. I signed up with team in training to run the Scotiabank marathon October 14th, 2012. Now I still need to be medically cleared to run that distance, but I'm confident I can always drop down to the half. You know just 21.1km, no big deal!

This time I've decided to cream a team of runners to do this with me. Together we will raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma and push our bodies in ways we didn't know was possible. I've had seven people say yes to the team, and two are confirmed and signed up.

I'm bringing back this blog, to share my journey, fundraising, struggles and successes with you.

It won't always be smooth sailing, but what in life is?

Here's my fundraising page link. Feel free to show your support!

I did it!

On Friday morning Mark and I headed off to the airport, to catch our flight to sunny San Fransisco. The captain on the Air Canada flight gave a shout out to everyone on board involved with team in training. It was very much appreciated because we all worked really hard to get to that point. Five long months of training and fundraising.

When we got to the hotel we checked in, had lunch and headed to union square to pick up my race kit. The race kit was pretty good, some surprising items, like coffee. We walked around the expo and then headed to a sight seeing bus to see San Fran.

Here's some of what we saw.

Saturday night, the night before the big race there was a team in training inspiration dinner. I'm not going to lie I was completely over whelmed. From the moment we walked into the building there were hundreds of people just cheering. This continued all the was down the escalators right to the buffet line. There were some great speakers and stories.

After the dinner I went back to the hotel to get everything ready for the next morning. I was a tad nervous and didn't sleep that much and was wide awake when my alarm went off. I had brought instant oatmeal to make in the coffee maker to eat before the race.

I met the team in the lobby and we walked over to the starting line together. we were there was too early and were standing waiting for over an hour before we actually crossed the starting line.

When my feet crossed that starting mat it was on, I took off! you can check out the professional photos here

It was a packed, tough and beautiful course. I felt like I was running and playing a game of frogger. There were a lot of walkers in front of me, which would be okay if they didn't walk five across. I stayed steady through the hills and the whole course. My ultimate goal would have been to finish my half marathon in under two hours, but I knew that wasn't realistic with the over 2000 feet inclines/declines. My goal time going in was under two and a half hours. Well I'm proud to say my chip time was 2:09:54.

It was great to have Judy, one of the TNT coaches run with me for a little bit, and to see Tiffany and Mark cheering me on down by mile 10. As I turned the corner and saw the finish line I booted it. There was a fire fighter in a tuxedo waiting to give me my Tiffany's finisher necklace. The finish line was really organized and after picking up all my swag I headed down to the TNT tent to stretch and pick up some more food. I had told Mark to meet me there. When I found him, he took these photos.

After these pictures I went down to the beach and went into the ocean. First I went into the water by accident, but then took my shoes off and went in up to my legs. It was a nice ice bath. My feet were sore, but the ocean seemed to do the trick!

The finisher necklace says "I run to be" and there's a spot to get in engraved. I'm still trying to figure out what to put, if you have any suggestions please let me know.

This was an amazing experience for me! I'm honoured I got to complete this run in honour of my mother in law. It was a challenge, but I did it!

Thank you!

Will I get to run?

I know I haven't blogged in a while, I haven't had a lot to say. So imagine my surprise when checking twitter I see that Air Canada Flight Attendants have given strike notice for October 13th. I'm scheduled to fly out with team in training for my first ever half marathon on October 14th.

I've just been getting over my omg I'm terrified for this race phase and into my omg I get to go to San Fransisco phase. Right now as I write this I have no clue if I'll be running, I'm not to optimistic at this point as I can't be flexible on flight dates. It will be beyond disappointing if I don't get to run as I won't be able to reschedule for another event as I won't have any vacation time. I've also been running my heart out, and although I've accomplished distances and times I never thought was possible I had a mission, and one I planed on conquering.

I know this blog post has been kind of run on and all jumbled up, but right now it expresses my opinions, and emotions.

Thanks for your support as always,

Stephanie

Am I Insane?

I'm getting really excited and gearing up for my first ever half marathon. Last week at my boot camp toning class I was the only one to show up and had lots of time to chat with my trainer. I asked him if I was insane to do my first half marathon in San Fransisco. He said yeah kinda, but it's good to challenge yourself. That's what this half marathon will be a HUGE challenge. I was always concerned with the fundraising aspect, but now I'm started to become nervous about the running, and the hills.

I asked my trainer what a reasonable time goal would be. I'm really focused on the number and want to challenge myself and do the best I can. He asked what my goal would be if the course was flat. I said I'd want to do it in two hours or less. He told me to add thirty minutes to account for the hills. To me personally two hours and thirty minutes seems really long. I know I have to be proud to just accomplish and finish this race, but I also really want a good time.

I was google mapping out the race to see the hills and elevation, and I'm scared. It's always good to have some nerves before a race it can help, but hopefully doing hill repeats this week will help build my confidence!

In other running news I ran 26.89km on Friday, 12km of that in the pouring rain. That's the furthest I've ever run. I did it just to prove I could. So naturally now I'm going to get a pretty new running outfit from lululemon... anything my heart desires!

Thanks as always for your support!

Stephanie

I guess I'm a runner....

Today on a lovely Sunday run with my friend Jenn we got to talking about how I started running and my feelings on running then. It was almost two years ago that I started running. I joined a learn to run clinic with the running room. I would go out and practice running one minute running one minute walking, building up to running ten minutes and walking one minute. I use to go over to the track to run, because I was worried about looking like a fool walk/running through the streets.

I remember running around the track thinking I don't know how people do this? I don't think I will ever do a 10km race, I don't know how people run for an hour. Two 10km races later I thought I'll never do anything longer than a 10km I don't know how people run for that long. Now having run a 15km race, and having run 21 and 23 kilometers I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to want to do a marathon.

Now I've always said running a marathon is my definition of insane, but at the same time I've had a personal goal of running a marathon on the great wall of China (go big or go home).

This week I want to go run 25km just to prove I can do it. My reward will be some new work out clothes, and maybe a running skirt!

Today it finally hit me.... I guess I've become a runner....

Fundraising thus Far

With 35 days left until my big race I thought I'd take some time and update you on my fundraising progress. There are several people that without their support this race would not be a reality for me.

My biggest donor has been my parenting weighing in at a whooping $900. Both my parents made donations, then my dad gave me $50 of loose change. They topped off their donations with selling a set of car tires they no longer needed and donating the profits. Part of me thinks they donated soo much because they didn't think I could do it on my own. I'm happy to have their support and happy that because of it I will be able to run my heart out!

My cousin Alex is another huge supporter! She held a loose change fundraiser on my behalf and vowed to match donations up to $100. She did amazing, asking co-workers, friends, family and strangers for donations tipping the scale at $243.43. Her donation was the one that put me over my fundraising minimum of $3500.

As you know my fundraising events didn't go very well, and I wasn't able to actually be successful with any of them. I'm thankful for everyone that sponsored me. From $1 to $900 I appreciate every single donation. Its helped restore my faith in people and help me know that I can do this race!

If you were considering sponsoring me and haven't yet, please do, there's still time!

Each dollar you sponsor keeps me running! And run I do! 23km on Saturday afternoon!

Thanks, as always for your support!

Stephanie

Weekend Update

Hey guys,

I wanted to update you on how I'm doing. I'm doing really well. As I've mentioned before my cousin Alex was hosting a fundraiser for me. She had a bucket at her desk at work and asked for loose change from friends, co-workers, family and strangers! She did AMAZING! She managed to collect $173.43 in change.... in change! That's pretty freaking amazing. The best part was she agreed to match up to $100 so the grand total was $273.43!!! I'm really thankful for all Alex as done, it really means a lot!

My mother in law also dropped off a bag of change she didn't think it'd be much but it was $26.50. If anyone has change they want to get rid of, I'll gladly take it, and add it to a great cause!

Now that I've surpassed $3500, I'm trying to get up to $4000 or above, so keep the love and support coming!!

My running is coming along, but I have a confession, I've been getting my miles in but I haven't been doing hills. My goal for the week is hills! I need to get them in now so that it makes my race easier. You can't cram hill training I know, but I'll do my best to get more in.

I find I'm really getting into a groove when I'm running, and I'm *gasp* starting to love it. I'm becoming a runner.. and saving lives!

Thanks as always for your support.

Stephanie

Update

Wow! I haven't blogged in a while, but at last I am blogging instead of lying in bed, that's commitment! Ever since I signed up with team in training my biggest fear and concern was fundraising. I didn't know if I could do it, it really seemed like an impossible task. I'm happy to report I'm gonna destroy my fundraising minimum and decided to raise my goal up to $4000. Now I'll be the first to admit if my parents didn't donate $900 I wouldn't be this far ahead. But what can I say they hate cancer!

I have two fundraising events this weekend and would love your help/support! On Saturday I have a tag day. That's where I stand outside of the LCBO at Eglinton and Laird and ask people for money. I'm not sure how it will go but I need people to help me! I can't/don't want to do it alone! On Sunday I'm having a loose change party, I'm not sure if anyone will show up, even my husband RSVP'ed maybe, but maybe a person or two will show up. I'd love to show off my condo and amazing roof top patio, so hit me up if you want the details!

On Saturday I went out for a morning run and ran 21km. I'm shocked, it wasn't hard, it wasn't difficult, it was nice. I am shocked to say I actually enjoyed it. I may be a runner....

That's all for now, but I hope to see you on the weekend!

Thanks, as always for your support!

Stephanie

Jack Layton: A Remarkable Man

Today Canada lost a remarkable man. Where we may not have the same views or agree on policies, one thing we can all agree on is Jack Layton changed the face of Canadian politics. He lead with passion and integrity. I'd like to share part of his final letter.

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

I'm $433.78 away from my fundraising goal!!

Thanks as always for your support.

Stephanie

Mid Summer Night Run

This was a really busy weekend for me. I was volunteering with Can Fit Pro at their annual fitness professional conference and I also ran my first 15km race. I'm exhausted!! I'm also up to $2900 in fundraising, which means $600 left to go. If you haven't sponsored me yet and were thinking about it, now's the time!!

I learned at a lot at the conference and really need to start following my passion. I have a couple of ideas I'm thinking about, I just have to believe in myself and go for it. I've never seen so many fit people in one room ever it was great! Also Richard Simmons was there and did a work out, I have video I should post it on you tube. Patrick House from the Biggest Loser was also there. I did a bosu ball, and trx work shop all before running the 15 km race... crazy!

The mid summer night race was hot, humid and hard, but I have a new personal best 1 hour and 23 minutes. I ran with my aunt Cathie, she pushes me and I LOVE running with her. I was wearing my team in training shirt, and had soo many people cheer me on with "go team!" most of them being fellow runners. My marathon running aunt was surprised how many people cheered go team, she thought it was great!

Here are some pictures from the race!

You can check out more photos here!

Thanks as always for your support!

Stephanie

Sunday Update and GTS

First of all I want to say Saturday I ran 17km, it's the furthest I've ever run!!! What an accomplishment! I went to the group training session with team in training. I thought I'd be super late because the subway wasn't working, but the ttc was super organized and the transfer from the subway to shuttle bus was seamless! The run was a great route through the belt line, a park and even the cemetery. The great part is having people to run with who haven't ever run 17km and completing it together. Let me tell you that was an amazing feeling! I rewarded myself with a freshly squeezed juice, it was awesome!

Now onto the part that terrifies me... the fundraising. I have committed to raising at least $3500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If I don't hit $3500 by end of day September 8th, then the remainder will be charged to my Visa. I'm not going to lie this is terrifying to me. My hours are being cut again at work, conveniently on September 12th so I don't have the extra money to pay off that visa bill, so I need to get serious and really buckle down and call the people who said they will sponsor me.

This brings me to my next challenge I need to raise $40 a day for the next 25 days to bring me up to my fundraising minimum. Please help me with this. If you were thinking of sponsoring but haven't yet please do! Please also share this with family, friends, co-workers, strangers on the street.. EVERYONE!!

Thanks as always for your support!

Stephanie

Where does the Money Go?

You here a lot about charities spending most of their donations in administration costs. Team in training is not like that. 75% of what you donate goes right to research and patient services. That money is not wasted either, I want to share another good news discovery!

This article can be found here

Breakthrough’ method rids patients of advanced cancer

In what is being hailed as a potential cancer breakthrough, three men suffering late-stage leukemia have been cured using their own, genetically reprogrammed immune systems.

The technique transforms blood-borne T-cells into “serial killers” that hunt down and obliterate cancer cells, leaving healthy tissue unharmed, according to a pair of studies published simultaneously in two prominent journals.

“I’m getting goosebumps,” says University of Pennsylvania pathologist Michael Kalos, lead author of one of the studies.

“The promise of this is profound. If this repeats in more patients . . . it shows that we can, with amazing effectiveness, blow away cancer cells,” Kalos said in an interview.

Two studies describing the process were released Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine.

“For the field of immune therapy it’s a really exciting advance,” says Pamela Ohashi, head of immune therapy at the Ontario Cancer Institute.

“It actually provides a new way to manipulate the immune system,” Ohashi says.

Although it takes in only three patients, Ohashi says the results presented were so robust they should send excitement throughout her field.

Kalos explains that the technique works much like a vaccine, training the immune system to target cancer cells, just as inoculations coax it to fight off viruses.

To do this, researchers isolated immunological T-cells from the blood of the three leukemia patients and genetically reprogrammed them using a virus vector that inserted a new gene into their DNA.

This gene coaxed the T-cells to create an antibody — known as chimeric antigen receptor or CAR — that would specifically target structures on the surface of cancer cells.

The newly armed T-cells were then injected back into the respective patients where they sought out and bound themselves to the cancer cells and killed them.

More importantly, however, the reprogrammed hunters caused other T-cells to multiply each time they attacked, creating more killers with each slain cancer cell.

“Within three weeks the tumours had been blown away, in a way that was much more violent than we ever expected,” Dr. Carl June, a senior study author, said in a statement.

“In addition to an extensive capacity for self-replication the infused T-cells are serial killers. On average each infused T-cell led to the killing of thousands of tumour cells,” said June, a University of Pennsylvania pathologist.

It’s estimated the scant number of T-cells originally injected into the patients killed more than two pounds of tumour cells in each of the men, whose blood and bone marrow were replete with cancer.

After a year, microscopic analysis of their blood could find no trace of cancerous cells, Kalos says.

“I am still trying to grasp the enormity of what I am part of and of what the results will mean to countless others with (leukemia) or other forms of cancer,” one of the patients, none of whom were named, said in a written statement.

Kalos says it appears that, like a vaccine, the T-cells also left the patients with a lingering protection, which would reactivate the immunological attack if cancer returned.

“If leukemia does come back, those T-cells (appear to be) armed and ready to eliminate it,” he said.

Each of the men had been suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a slow-acting form of the blood ailment that can linger for years before radical therapies like marrow transplants become necessary.

But Kalos says there is no reason to think the killer T-cell therapy would not work on more lethal “hard tumour” cancers like breast, prostate or lung.

He says each type of cancer cell has unique surface structures that T-cells could be similarly reprogrammed to hone in on.

“You can target prostate cancer, for example, by targeting any of the surface molecules that have been shown to be present on prostate cancer,” Kalos says.

Researchers have attempted to use modified T-cells to fight cancer in several previous trials, but always with lacklustre results.

Kalos says he does not know why his team’s attempt appears to have worked, but he suspects the unique lentivirus used to insert the modifying genes played a role.

“This seems to be a novel approach to harnessing the power of the patient’s own immune system to battle Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and perhaps other related leukemias,” says Dr Michael Wosnick, head of research with the Canadian Cancer Society.

“Although the initial study was limited to 3 patients, this may pave the way for better treatments of these diseases, and that is of course what we all want to see,” he said via email.

The researchers could only treat three patients because they ran out of the virus, which was derived from HIV.

Kalos says the team has managed to acquire more of the virus — which cost $250,000 for the first three treatments — and will begin new trials in the coming months.

What a breakthrough!

Thanks as always for your support!

Stephanie

Run as though your life depends on it

I love this video. Although it's not not for team in training, it's a great reminder of the good the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society does.

Michael C. Hall says in the video "Walk as though your life depended on it because somebody's does" I'd love to change that quote to "run as though your life depended on it because somebody's does" Although my t-shirt slogan would be shortened to "I run because life's depend on it"

Enjoy the video!



Thanks as always for your support,

Stephanie

Amazing E-mail

I want to share with you an amazing e-mail I received from my cousin Alex!

Hello Team DK!

Some of you may be wondering why there’s a green pail on my desk with a sign, “Spare Change for Stephie” on it. Maybe you haven’t noticed. Either way I’m about to explain it.

My dear cousin Stephanie has been training all summer to run a Half Marathon this fall with Team in Training. Team in Training are an organization who sign you up for a race and help you with your training…in exchange you raise a shitton of money for them, with all money going to fight blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Stephanie’s mother in law has been battling lymphoma for years and she figures if Lynne can do that, she can totally train for and run a half marathon.

Stephie’s committed to raising $3500. She’s at 70% of her goal right now. My goal is to raise $100 for her by the time I see her on Saturday. I’d love to present her with a big ol’ bucket of change.

So stop by my desk and empty your pockets. For every coin you drop in you can shoot me with Spiderman’s Web or get a free hug.

Oh, and I’m matching donations (up to $100) so if you drop a loonie in my bucket, that’s actually a toonie.

Love you all.

Alex.

xoxo

Anyone else want to make my day, week, month?

Thanks as always for your support!

Stephanie

Saturday Group Training Session

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a morning person. I hate the mornings and am usually pretty grumpy in the mornings. I don't really snap out of mornings until around 11am, or a couple of coffees! So joining team in training morning run sessions is not an easy thing for me. They start at 7:30am... on a Saturday... I don't even wake up that early for work. Now I had been working the past several Saturdays but now that I don't work Saturdays I have to drag my butt out of bed and go.

This morning I set my alarm to go off at 6:25am, when it went off I set it to snooze until 6:35. Then I got out of bed and said if it's raining I'm staying home, but the sun was shining. I got ready ate breakfast and left. I got outside and had forgotten my coffee so I went back to get it. Then I headed out to wait for the streetcar.

Now I was wearing my team in training shirt, my fuel belt and an amazingly stylish hat. A guy came up to me on the streetcar to ask if I was running with the group today. So we walked down to the park together and then got flagged down by another girl looking for where the group was meeting. You're never alone when you're in your team in training shirt!

The run was nice, an area of the city I've never been to. Not a lot to see, but flat and no lights. A nice easy early morning 11km run!

Here's a photo I took during the run

Maybe when I'm done training I'll become a runtographer. Just go for runs around the city taking pictures, much like runners at the Toronto Zoo run!

After coming home from the group training session I grabbed some food, changed my socks and headed to the gym. I did upper body weights and then a yoga class. I do feel sorry for people at the gym, I'm pretty sure I smelled. Oh well that's the smell of kicking cancer!

What a morning! Now on to fill out my recommitment papers for my race!

Thanks as always for your support!

Stephanie

Loose Change Adds Up!

As I had mentioned earlier my wonderful cousin had offered to host a fundraiser for me to help kick blood cancers. She is going to be shameless and ask people for change, because as you know loose change can really add up! She's going to be continuing all next week and hopes to help add $100 to my fundraising total!

After hearing about this I threw out a challenge to have family and friends to ask people for loose change to help add towards my fundraising total. For the month of August I would like anyone who can to add a coin jar to their desk at work to please do so. Or if you're able to ask friends, and family for loose change that would be awesome too!

I am offering a prize for whoever can bring in the most money from loose change and let me tell you it will be epic, well maybe not epic but not lame I promise! But you better get started I hear Alex is already up to $15!!

So get started, ask family, friends, co-worker, strangers on the subway and help me with the last $1000 of my fundraising mission.

Together we can do it!

Thanks as always for your support!

Stephanie

Great Article

Hey guys, I know I haven't blogged lately, but I wanted to share this wonderful article. Keep the donations coming so that there's more good news like this!

Scientists at the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA), including several from Simon Fraser University, have uncovered information that could help oncologists prevent Canada’s fifth most common cancer from even gaining a foothold in people.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) affects 7,700 Canadians. In B.C. alone, more than a thousand people are expected to be diagnosed with the disease this year.

A team of 50 BCCA scientists discovered 109 genes with recurring mutations while sequencing the whole genomes of more than 100 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma tumours. They identified 26 of the repeatedly mutated genes as contributors to NHL based on their mutation patterns.

Prior to this study, no one knew that more than two-thirds of the newly identified mutated genes were linked to lymphoma.

The journal Nature has published online this massive cancer-sequencing study, which flags two of the newly discovered lymphoma-related genes as being particularly noteworthy. It highlighted MLL2 as potentially the most commonly mutated gene in NHL as it is mutated in 89 per cent of Follicular lymphoma patients.

The study suggests mutations that inactivate MLL2, which normally appears to function as a tumour suppressor gene, enables cancer cells to grow rapidly, despite the body’s regulatory mechanisms.

A second novel gene discovery, MEF2B, bears a so-called hot spot mutation pattern reminiscent of oncogenes, another class of cancer genes.

“The mutated genes discovered should enable the design of new tests to recognize subtypes of lymphoma,” explains Angela Brooks-Wilson, one of the BCCA scientists on this study. Also an associate professor of biomedical physiology and kinesiology at SFU, Brooks-Wilson adds: “The findings may help us predict how individual lymphoma tumours will react to different treatments.”

Medical oncologists hope the newly discovered treasure trove of genetic information will advance clinical and research collaboration on preventing the growth of NHL.

“This wealth of new genetic clues will help us create new drugs and identify existing ones that can inhibit these mutant genes,” says Steven Jones, a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry (MBB) at SFU. “The pattern of mutations discovered may become ideal targets for existing therapies.”

Ryan Morin, a researcher at the BC Cancer Agency, is the first author of this study. Among the other three BCAA scientists involved who teach and conduct research in MBB at SFU are: Rob Holt, Martin Hirst and the study’s leader Marco Marra.

As always, thanks for your support!

Stephanie

The Week In Review

I signed up for dailymile.com, as a way to track my running. I also like that other runners comment on my runs and give me encouragement. This past week has been a good running week. I've run five times this week, and wanted to share my daily mile running stats with you!

Total Distance (mi)
24.51

Total Calories
3193

Total Time
04:07

Workouts
5

Pretty awesome if you ask me! This week I plan to go to the gym, do hill training, bootcamp, yoga and of course a couple of runs!

As always thanks for your support and donations, I can't do this without you!

Stephanie