Get your megaphones and pompoms out! Friends of Heroes teams are walking this weekend!  Let’s cheer them on!

Thurs. 9/10 – Beth Ann – Hoover, AL

Fri. 9/11 – Kathie – St. Peters, MO

Sat. 9/12 – Beck – Sparks, NV

Please send pictures or a report after your walk so we can celebrate with you!  I’ll put them on the FOH website too!

Thanks for all you do!  Have a great walk night!

The Light the Night season is fast approaching and it is the perfect time to remember WHY we are walking.  Please join us by adding a comment to this post about why you are walking for Friends of Heroes, how you found us and what you would like to see in the coming years.  Let get this party started!!!!

Friends of Heroes has a forum to keep in touch with the national team?  Please join us at http://friendsofheroes.proboards80.com/index.cgi

This is a great way to find out what other teams are doing, to keep up and offer support to cancer patients and just chit chat.

Through out the years our team has had the chance to meet and support many children who have been battling a war against cancer.  This war takes place in their tiny bodies.  The word cancer is enough to scare anyone, and to say it to a child must be devastating, yet these children take it with their heads held high.  These children are true heroes.  They each deserve the honor of being named a hero.

This year, Friends of Heroes wants to honor these warriors who have battled more in their lives then most adults will ever endure.  To nominate a child to be one of Friends of Heroes, Hero of the month, please send in their Name, Age, Parent/guardian’s e-mail, a quick story on this child and how they have touched your life to teamleaders@friendsofheroes.org

Please note that we can only accept nomiations that have the consent from the child’s  parent or guardian.

The LLS Therapy Acceleration Program’s Academic Concierge Division continues to successfully leverage LLS research investments by helping select LLS-funded academic investigators move new therapies toward market approval. On April 22, 2009, LLS will present one of its Academic Concierge projects, headed by Principal Investigator Aaron D. Schimmer, F.R.C.P.C., M.D., Ph.D., Ontario Cancer Institute (shown here), at a meeting with Health Canada (the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and discuss next steps toward opening a Phase I clinical trial.  Barring any concerns from Health Canada, the program is on track to open LLS’s first AC Division clinical trial in the fall of 2009.

In conjunction with the LLS National Board of Directors meeting held March 13th in Newark, N.J., the Therapy Acceleration Program Governance Committee reviewed the progress of the Cleveland Clinic partnership in the Clinical Trials Program Division and approved a third LLS-supported trial to open at the Clinical Trial Center for Hematologic Malignancies.  This Phase I/II trial will combine two approved therapies, Lenalidomide and Rituximab, for maintenance therapy following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Also exciting is news that the Cleveland Clinic will utilize three of its community treatment centers when it becomes a trial site for LLS’s partner, Aegera Therapeutics, and the ongoing Phase I/II trial of a new drug (AEG35156). The Cleveland Clinic’s main campus and three regional hospital centers will begin recruiting patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma or follicular lymphoma for treatment with Aegera’s AEG35156, that inhibits a molecule called X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis (XIAP). This is a significant step toward LLS’s goal of enhancing access to clinical trials by “taking the trial to the patient.”

In order to leverage its successful clinical trial partnership with the Cleveland Clinic and to further address issues that currently limit clinical trial participation, LLS hosted a 1 1/2 day workshop this past February in San Francisco. Ron Levy, M.D., professor and chief, Division of Oncology at Stanford University, led discussions in which clinical trials experts reviewed ongoing models for early phase blood cancer treatment trials, including roles for-profit companies and government agencies can play, and considered how LLS can best use its resources to help increase participation in practice-changing trials. Workshop discussions provided many insights that will enable future partnerships for the LLS Clinical Trials Program.

Source: LLS.org (eNewsline)

Save money with Gap Inc’s nationwide Give & Get coupon which will support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

This Thursday March 12 -Sunday March 15 – Gap Inc‘s 30% discount coupons will also provide a 5% donation (of LLS coupon-holders’ net purchases) to LLS.

Send this today, to all your friends and families. Forward this email or copy this URL and pass it on. http://www.gapgiveandget.com/np/lls.html

Gap Inc stores include: Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. The coupons are for in-store purchases only and they are good in both the USA and Canada.

Simply go to the Give & Get coupon page, print a coupon and go shopping. You can print as many as you need, to shop at different Gap Inc stores.

Have you always wanted to help out behind the scenes of Friends of Heroes?  Do you think that you can contribute to our 2009 Friends of Heroes team?  If so, we are looking for you!  We are looking for members who are willing to help us with out 2009 planning efforts.  Please send us a letter of interest to  teamleaders@friendsofheroes.org

Please include the areas that you feel  you are strongest at, such as social relations (myspace, facebook, twitter, etc), technical,  fundraising, organizational, or just about anything you feel will help out our team as a whole.

We are very excited to announce the 2009 Friends of Heroes team co-captains: Carole Franklyn and Beck Marko!

“Both Carole and Beck have been extremely helpful and supportive over the years. I am confident the team will advance under their leadership!” said Jennifer Burgess, National Co-captain 2007 & 2008

Please join us in welcoming Carole and Beck! They are both so honored to help lead such an amazing team.

Meet Carole Franklyn

“I am a married mom of two: Makenna is 8 and Aidan is 4. I live in Virginia , about 20 miles outside of Washington , DC . I work fulltime as an HR Specialist and Executive Assistant for a healthcare management company. Besides FOH, I love to read, be with my kids and volunteer at their schools. I am also active with CancerWarriors and been a proud sponsor of three kids: Amazing Jacob (an angel in Heaven), McKayla (OT 2+ yrs) and Princess Chloe (OT 6 months) who I got to meet in person! Last year, I was on my local LTN committee, but decided that this year I would devote my time to FOH.

“My son was born in June 2004 and while I was home on maternity leave, I discovered BabyCenter and through that, Allie’s story. I have been a member of Friends of Heroes since before it was Allie’s Angels. That little girl, and the many other children since her, have touched me in a way I never could have predicted – maybe because I had young children or maybe because I was looking for something “more” in my life. Whatever the reason, FOH has found a place in my heart.

“Over the past three years, I have become more and more involved in FOH. I started out on the Task Force and have moved up to my current position. I am looking forward to many great things from FOH this year! Most importantly, I’d like to spread the word about us as well as increase the involvement from all of you. It takes all of us to make FOH a success!”

Now meet Beck Marko

“I am Beck, a stay at home mom of three kiddos ages five, four and three years old, and I have been happily married for 7 1/2 years to my husband Vince.  Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has been a huge part of my life since I first read about baby Allie on her family’s web page.  I chose from that day forward that I would make it my job to do as much as I can to help find the cure for cancer.

“Since then I have served on several committees including 2004-2008 Northern Nevada Man Women and Celebrity of the year events, I chaired the 2007 Northern Nevada Light the Night walk, I have also served three years on the Friends of Heroes planning team.  In 2007  I was a task force teammate, 2008 I was in charge of social networks and then I was honored with the chance to work along side Carole as a co-captain to such a wonderful team in 2009.

“I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and can’t wait to make 2009 a WONDERFUL year!!!!! Outside of Friends of Heroes, I love to make homemade soaps, crafts, teaching Sunday school at our church and just being a mama.”

More About National Co-captains

After the unprecedented fundraising success and teamwork of Friends of Heroes (then Allie’s Angels ’04 and Friends of Allie ’05), a succession plan was created to ensure the future of Friends of Heroes. This plan provided for two national co-captains and a team leader committee.

Friends of Heroes National Co-Captains are passionate about the LLS mission and devote much of their spare time to help the team. As a co-captain, they serve a two-year term and draw from their previous experience as national team leaders. Typically, the co-captain terms are staggered to provide continuity and to enable them to share and pass on their experience. Since a new co-captain was not installed in 2008, two new co-captains will lead Friends of Heroes in 2009.

Congratulation!!!!

I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to David’s cookies http://www.davidscookies.com/ for donating this wonderful prize!

Also thank you to ALL of our walkers from 2008!  You all did an amaizing job.

Since Friends of Heroes started, the amount of team work that has gone into Friends of Heroes has been absolutely amazing!  We really could not have done it without each and every walker and supporter.  We want to hear from our teammates.  What can we do to make 2009 another wonderful year?  We are looking for some new ways to reach out to not only our teammates, but the heroes and their families that are struggling from cancer.  This coming walk season will open many new doors for our team, so lets make the leap and make it happen!  How can we help you gain your personal goal?  We would also like to hear about you 2008 Light the Night walks.

The team learders are also looking for personal stories that has led you to Light the Night and Friends of Heroes.  

Please e-mail us your suggestions and questions to teamleaders@friendsofheroes.org

Each year, Friends of Heroes walkers generously give their time and efforts to raise money for an amazing cause – ultimately, to find a CURE for blood cancers. From the bottom of our hearts, we salute our walkers listed below who raised over $100 for Light The Night this year.

We especially recognize our top 14 walkers: Renee Rubio, Angie Adams, Devan Griffin, Sean Haines, Kevin Wichers, Eric O’Neil, Howard Brunetti, Michelle Brunetti, Kathie Eberle, Candy Bartsch, Beck Marko, Robin Brunet and Brandon Kelley!!! Each of these walkers raised over $1,000.

THANK YOU to our walkers for making a difference with each dollar!

He will work to better coordinate the efforts between the government sector, including the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the private sector, especially with a focus on translational research so new discoveries in laboratories can be translated quickly and more efficiently to patients’ bedsides. He will also engage the next generation of researchers early in this fight through academic curriculums and internships.

As co-sponsor of legislation which aimed to provide better access to clinical trials including cancer, John McCain understands their critical role as essential testing grounds for new break through treatments. He also supported the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act that, among other changes, modernized the registry for clinical trial information. John McCain will continue to stress the importance of clinical trials.

Importantly, John McCain recognizes the need to understand the reasons behind the onset of cancer are just as important as the research to treat it. He has co-sponsored legislation that would create research centers that would study environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer.

Early detection is an essential element of a successful cancer treatment regimen. For breast cancer, we need to continue to refine imaging and screening techniques that identify onset of cancer sooner. John McCain has been a champion on these issues:

• Co-sponsored and fought for implementation of mammography standards and succeeded in getting Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) passed in 1992.
• Lead efforts to reauthorize this important legislation to ensure that the new digital mammography technology advancements were incorporated into the national standards to ensure that women all across America have access to state of the art detection technology.
• Fought to expand Medicare coverage to include mammography and colorectal screenings.

Access to Quality and Affordable Care for All

Most importantly, John McCain believes that no American, simply because of a pre-existing condition like cancer, should be denied access to quality and affordable coverage. This is a very important priority in his health care plan. And to make sure they get the high-quality coverage they need, John McCain has proposed a Guaranteed Access Plan (GAP) that will combine industry, state, and federal resources to help in the purchase of coverage for those hardest to insure, including patients with pre-existing conditions like cancer. There would be limits on premiums, and lower-income Americans would get additional financial assistance.

This cooperation among states in the purchase of insurance would also be a crucial step in ridding the market of both needless and costly regulations, and the dominance in the market of only a few insurance companies. John McCain will break down these barriers to competition, creativity, and excellence, with the goal of establishing a national market to make innovative policies and lowest prices available to every person in every state.

Finally, John McCain will continue to be a leader in pushing for greater competition in the drug and biotechnology industry through faster introduction of generic drugs and by allowing safe and effective follow-on biologics (FOBs) to enter the marketplace while ensuring that future research and development is not hindered. This will ensure that all patients, including cancer patients, have access to more affordable life-saving medications.

THE OBAMA-BIDEN PLAN TO COMBAT CANCER

1 Fighting cancer cost families and businesses $78 billion in medical costs last year, and the overall cost of cancer to our economy was estimated to be over $200 billion.2

Barack Obama understands firsthand the toll cancer takes on families – his mother died from ovarian cancer in her early 50s and his grandfather battled prostate cancer. Barack Obama has spent his career fighting to improve prevention and treatment of cancer. As an Illinois State Senator, Obama passed laws to mandate insurance coverage of colorectal cancer examinations, ensure Medicaid coverage for treatment of breast and cervical cancers, promote early detection of prostate and testicular cancers, and helped create the Illinois Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination. As United States Senator, he has fought for increased funding for cancer research, and championed genomics and personalized medicine to identify new and better treatments for cancer and other diseases. As president, Barack Obama will build upon his career-long efforts and launch a new campaign to combat cancer and provide greater lifetime support to cancer survivors and their families.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made significant advances in understanding cancer biology, and translating that knowledge into effective prevention programs, diagnostics, treatments and cures. Notably, this knowledge has also benefited individuals with other diseases, such as autoimmune disorders. Despite these advances, cancer funding has stagnated in recent federal budgets.3

This week we enter week 8 of our walks. Here is a list of walksites this week. To find a walk in your area visit www.lightthenight.org.  Thank you for all your support!

This week we enter week seven of our Light The Night Walks. Its not to late to join! Stop by www.lightthenight.org to look for a walk in your area.

This weeks walks are