We're #1! We're #1!

I recently attended an awards ceremony for the Light the Night walk.  It was bittersweet, as Tyler was in my thoughts all evening long, but I wanted to share some news with everyone who walked with us last year.

Team Firefly was the #1 team for 2010!  Thank you so much for all who walked, those who raised money to find a cure, and those who donated so generously.  Together we raised over $17,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fulfill its mission of finding a cure for cancer.

Although we haven't found a cure for blood cancers yet, I believe that our efforts will help someone in the future be able to avoid the pain that we are all living with today.  In fact, the CML'ers I know that are on Gleevec and Ponatnib are doing well today because of the research dollars in past years.

In fiscal year 2010 approximately $72 million was invested in research, including funding for 103 new grants to researchers in academic institutions and $8 million in contracts through the LLS Therapy Acceleration Program. As of June 2010, LLS was supporting 347 research projects and 9 research contracts in the U.S., Canada, and 9 other countries.

Thanks for joining me in my efforts to find a cure.  I don't want any of us to feel the pain of losing a friend, a child, a parent, or a spouse to Leukemia ever again.