Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Fleet Night at West Marine - June 19th


Support Fleet Night – Benefiting BeatSarcoma
Thursday, June 19th from 4:00-7:30pm

5% of all fleet night sales at the West Marine location in Richmond,
will go to the BeatSarcoma Foundation

Everyone who spends more than $100 at fleet night will be entered in a drawing for an 'Elise' fleece jacket and a $75 West Marine gift certificate. Drawing will take place at the Sarcoma Cup

Store Location: 501 West Canal Blvd. Suite D
Richmond, CA 94804
(510) 965-9922

The Birth of the Sarcoma Cup

Nat's story has inspired people to contribute their unique talents to the regatta. Arborist Dan Ratner collaborated on the base that displays the trophy cup with woodworkers Vaughn Tan and Celia Saino. Celia said, "Dan and I called master woodturners Jerry and Debbie Kermode to ask for help turning the walnut burl into a beautiful trophy cup.


The Kermodes are avid windsurfers and had recently lost a close friend to cancer. After hearing Nat's story, Jerry said, 'You hit all the right buttons' and agreed to meet the following week to create the trophy in his Sebastopol studio.

The wood for the Sarcoma Cup was salvaged from a local California claro walnut tree and donated by Dan Ratner.

Dan, owner of Dan of all Trades - at work with the Master.

The Cup now eagerly awaits the Sarcoma Cup regatta, held on San Francisco Bay, on June 28 & 29.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Code 3 For a Cure


http://code3foracure.com/

CODE 3 FOR A CURE is a mission of hope that will begin on June 13, 2008, when a crew of firefighters will drive a fire engine, courtesy of Sutphen Corporation, from California to New York.

The CODE 3 crew will stop at various fire departments along the way to collect the names of fallen firefighters (both active and retired) who have lost their lives due to cancer. Those names will be read at the crossroads of the world, Times Square. A fire bell mounted on the fire engine will ring out once for each name called. This process will be repeated upon their return trip to California, when they will stop at fire departments along that route, collecting additional names. Upon their arrival back home to California, they will end their journey by reading off all the names collected along their 6,800 mile round-trip journey.

By honoring their comrades across the nation who have passed away from cancer, the firefighters hope to bring awareness of how widespread cancer is, among firefighters in particular. Their ultimate goal is to find a cure for ALL cancers so that NO ONE has to suffer from the agony of this disease and the grief it leaves behind. To this end, the firefighters will be encouraging donations to the non-profit organizations that relentlessly wage the war against cancer day after day. They will do this by posting contact information for the non-profit organizations on the sides of the fire apparatus for all to see as they make their way across the United States. They are asking all the people across the country who see them on the road to make a donation directly to a non-profit organization of their choice.

Code 3 for a Cure was founded by Lorenzo Abundiz, who was forced to retire from the Santa Ana Fire Department because of cancer and the complications associated with it. Lorenzo has fought two types of cancer over the past ten years. The first was a high grade sarcoma and the second was bladder cancer. He was diagnosed with the second cancer just one month after he had been declared cured from the sarcoma after a five-year window. This year (2008) marks the end of Lorenzo’s long, ten-year battle with cancer that began in 1998, and thus he felt compelled to organize this mission. Its main purpose is four-fold: to honor his comrades in the fire service who have lost their lives due to cancer (whether they were active or retired), because it was they who paved the way, through their service and sacrifice, to the safer equipment and procedures used by the firefighters of today; raise awareness about firefighting related cancers; give hope, support and encouragement to firefighters and others who are fighting their own personal battle against cancer and in so doing let them know they are not alone; and help find a cure for ALL cancers by encouraging contributions to the non-profit agencies who are waging the war against this hidden enemy and who support the families of those who have fallen.


Nick Barran donates the proceeds from his sailing article to BeatSarcoma


Nick Barran is a veteran sailor with considerable offshore experience. His boat, the ILC 40 Mureadritta's XL competed in the 2006 Pacific Cup. Nat, our founder was helping Nick deliver his boat back to San Francisco from Hawaii, after the race, when a sperm whale rammed into the yacht and sank it, 500 nautical miles North of Hawaii.

Nick was extremely well prepared for such an emergency - he had all the required communication and evacuation equipment. The crew drifted for a day on a liferaft before being picked up by a container ship. Everyone made it safely back to land a few days later, and the experience created strong bonds between the crew of four: Nick, James, David and Nat.

Nick's superb seamanship could serve as a model for many a-sailors to come and he shared his experience through an article for Cruising World. You can find more information on the Cruising World website.

http://www.cruisingworld.com/capable-cruising/voyaging/distress-call-from-xl-54987.html
http://www.cruisingworld.com/capable-cruising/voyaging/be-prepared-should-be-everyones-motto-43479.html

Nick donated 100% of his compensation as a guest writer to BeatSarcoma, and the Cruising World editor kindly added a mention of Nat's fight to alert its readers to the cause. In his words, he would do 'anything to help'.

Like Nick, you can inspire others and build on something that you like doing, or do routinely to raise awareness of sarcoma, or contribute funds to research. Everything counts, there is no such thing as a small gesture - everything is grand on the scale of generosity.

On behalf of all sarcoma sufferers, their caregivers and the research and medical community that supports them, thank you Nick!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Registration for the Sarcoma Cup is Open

http://beatsarcoma.org/Sarcoma_Cup.html

June 28 online Registration - Click Here
Saturday Registered Competitors


June 29 online Registration - Click Here

Sunday Registered Competitors

Not racing? Come support the event with a dinner and an auction
Sat. Dinner $14 Adults/ $12 Children and Sunday auction tickets $1
Saturday dinner tickets will be $15 at the door.

You can set up your boat fundraising page or donate here.

Looking for crew or looking to crew? Note:
OCSC, BeatSarcoma's partner on the Pacific Cup 2008 will help match advanced students with skippers.
You can fill out this
form. Or check the crewlist. Or contact us

Sponsors

Pasha Haiwan Transportation Lines is our Ocean Level sponsor



Bay Level Sponsor:

Lake Level Sponsor:

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Advances in the Treatment of Osteosarcoma

Webcast — Patient Power —

“Advances in the Treatment of Osteosarcoma” on

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 7:00 pm Central

WHAT: Webcast – M.D. Anderson Presents…“Patient Power” with Andrew Schorr

www.mdanderson.org/patientpower.

2,500 new cases of primary bone cancer are diagnosed in the United States every year. The Sarcoma Clinic at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center sees more sarcoma patients than any hospital in the country. Listen to this show to hear Dr. Christopher Cannon from M.D. Anderson’s Orthopaedic Oncology department discuss advances in the treatment of osteosarcoma, including new limb-sparing surgery methods. Listen to hear the latest news from a top expert in the field.

WHO (FEATURED GUESTS):

Christopher Cannon, MD: Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Oncology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Andrew Schorr: Host and eleven-year CLL survivor

WHEN: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 from 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm Central Time

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Listen at mdanderson.org/patientpower

ABOUT PATIENT POWER:

Patient Power debuted in February 2005 and is a weekly show hosted by Andrew Schorr, eleven-year leukemia survivor, patient educator and patient advocate. The show features renowned medical experts on topics that include cancer, pain, diabetes, and heart specialists, as well as experts in clinical trials and top pharmacists. The show serves to bring patients together in a radio and Internet community to help navigate an often inhospitable healthcare system. Patient Power takes questions from callers and Internet listeners on topics such as how to find the right doctor, how to advocate for effectively, when to get a second opinion from a specialist, and how to evaluate one treatment option over another.

An overriding goal of the program is to help listeners get smart about available treatments. To quote Andrew: “I am doing this to help other people see that they can be powerful patients too and it will make a big difference in their care. We aren’t selling things, and we have no agenda to push other than to take control of your own healthcare rather than allow the system to run roughshod over you. Our goal is to mentor and guide patients and families as they fight a serious illness to achieve the best health possible.”

Replays and transcripts now available at

www.mdanderson.org/patientpower and www.patientpower.info