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In 2010 I was supposed to run the Chicago Marathon in honor of my cousin Julie who was courageously battling cancer. After an injury that resulted in 2 back surgeries, my doctor told me that I could never run again.
In 2019, on my niece's first Birthday, instead of celebrating, Harper spent the day under anesthesia getting an MRI to confirm that she had cancer. We then spent the next 19 months living between Charlottesville and Philadelphia while Harper went through aggressive and grueling treatments that included surgeries, chemotherapy, high dose chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, radiation, and immunotherapy for high risk Neuroblastoma.
Harper finished treatment, however, she undergoes PET scans every 3 months at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Before each scan, we become ridden with scanxiety out of fear that the cancer is back. Harper and the other children battling cancer need NEW DRUGS and clinical trials right now. Pediatric cancer research is severely underfunded and the lives of the children we love depend on new treatments.
After learning how imperative pediatric cancer research is to saving the life of my niece and her friends, I decided to run the Chicago Marathon again... 11 years later. Due to the stress this type of training puts on my back, this will be my one and only chance at running a marathon for two people I love dearly and for many other cancer warriors. I will be running in memory of Julie and some other very special people and in honor of Harper and her friends who desperately need your support.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand raises millions of dollars for research grants and if you check out the link below, you will see that grants are going directly to CHOP and other major hospitals to fund clinical trials and research. Alex Scott (who had neuroblastoma-- the same cancer as Harper), started Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) with one front yard lemonade stand. Today, ALSF has raised more than $250 million and has funded over 1,000 research grants at nearly 150 institutions around the U.S. and Canada. ALSF is currently funding research at CHOP (Harper's hospital) through an 18.5 million dollar grant for The Crazy 8 Initiative that brought together more than 90 top scientists from around the world to contribute their expertise in eight key areas of need:
- Embryonal brain cancers
- High-grade gliomas
- Fusion-positive sarcomas
- Fusion-negative sarcomas
- Leukemias
- Neuroblastoma
- Big data
- Catalyzing clinical trials
In North America and Europe, some 1,500 children are diagnosed with severely malignant, high-risk neuroblastoma each year, which requires intense treatment. Fewer than half of those with high-risk disease live more than five years after diagnosis, and those who do survive often suffer lifelong side effects, including hearing loss and secondary malignant cancers. Each year in the U.S. there are an estimated 15,780 children between the ages of birth and 19 years of age who are diagnosed with cancer. Approximately 1 in 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday. The federal government only allocates 4% of its budget to pediatric cancer research. Only one new drug has been approved by the FDA for neuroblastoma in the past 30 years. We have to do something NOW to help these children!
You can carry on Alex’s inspiring legacy by raising money to fight childhood cancer, which directly impacts Harper and her friends.
Please make a donation to help more kids like Harper fight cancer. $50 funds one hour of research. Please also share this page to help get others involved. If you would like to set up your own lemonade stand to help, please contact me for details.
Thank you so much for wanting to make a difference.
