8//30. We Are Not Done.

One year ago today, 8/30, I celebrated being cancer-free.

Cancer survivors celebrate important milestones in their treatments. For example, Lance Armstrong celebrates 10//2 (the day he found out he had cancer) as LIVESTRONG Day around the world.

For me, I celebrated being cancer-free. With cupcakes. Which I proceeded to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner that day.

Then,
Cancer came back.

In fact, I forgot about this 8/30 date because it seemed irrelevant to me now -- until my sister reminded me of it. At first, it's easy to inwardly groan and be angry -- and then we quickly set our sights on the fact that soon, we'll be celebrating a new remission "birthday," and many more to follow. I'm honestly looking forward to the day that I can hit my Sweet 16 "Remission" Re-Birthday, like my friend Colin celebrated during our LIVESTRONG Boston Marathon trip.

And, someday, we'll all look back at this journey after we find a cure for cancer and say, "Remember when?"

Maybe it'll be folklore to my nieces & nephew:
Me: "I had cancer."
Them: "What's that?"

THAT is my dream.
THAT is why we lace up our shoes everyday to run or ride.
THAT is why we work so hard to fundraise for a cure.
THAT is why the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Lance Armstrong Foundation work so hard to help patients and fund research.

We are all a part of something BIGGER than ourselves.

Thank you for all of your support through my battles, and for the support you give to the loved ones in your lives that are also fighting or that may have lost their battle. This day may not signify a cancer-free day for me this year, but it WILL serve as a day that reminds me that...

WE ARE NOT DONE.

If you're a fan of cures and addicted to running/cycling/music, then join the Cures Rock! Fan Page on Facebook. We've got some exciting events planned in the next few months, and I know ya'll want to be a part of it!

Also, there are 2 ways you can support me and the fight against cancer:

1. Sign up for the Cures Rock! "Light The Night" Team (a casual, evening, 2mi fundraising walk for LLS), and join our team on Friday, Nov 20th.

2. Support the Austin LIVESTRONG Challenge in October (benefitting LAF), by either joining the event or donating to my fundraising.

CURES ROCK! (Cancer does not.) Campaign to kick cancer to the curb!

Pictures:

Pic 1: Cures Rock! hits the street of the Amgen Tour of CA

Pic 2: LIVESTRONG Army Leaders from San Jose & San Diego show solidarity in the fight against cancer

Pic 3: Cures Rock! hits the LIVESTRONG Mission Wall at the Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

Join Cures Rock! Fan Page on Facebook!

CURES [kyoor] noun, verb: successful remedial treatment; restoration to health.
+

ROCK [rok] noun, verb: to affect deeply; stun; move or sway powerfully, as with excitement or emotion.
=

CURES ROCK!

Become a fan of cures through your music, running and cycling! Cures Rock! now has a Facebook "Fan" page. (Please, share it with your Facebook friends,and pass it on! ) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cures-Rock/119107843868?ref=nf#/pages/Cures-Rock/119107843868?ref=ts

We are CURES ROCK! -- a growing, grassroots organization and crusade of friends and advocates with a solidarity pact to fundraise, fight for and find a cure for cancer in our lifetime. Cancer may have rocked our world, but cures will rock the planet!tm

Take Part in the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit LIVE!

(Re-Posting the LIVESTRONG Blog article by Brooke McMillan on how to take part LIVE in the Global Cancer Summit, Click here to see the article on their site.)

The LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit will be one of the defining moments in our foundation’s history. Delegates representing over 60 countries will commit to make cancer a priority in their home countries. For the 500 attendees this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and for our staff, the culmination of several years very hard work. We are very excited.

For survivors all over the world, their family, friends, supporters of the foundation and interested public, we have decided to make this experience as interactive as possible. There will be opportunities each day to learn about what is going on at the summit, opportunity to view live streaming video, get daily recaps, ask you questions of the participants, hear stories from attendees and more.

Below are ways that you can take part in the Summit online:

UStream: We have created a channel for the LIVESTRONG Summit on UStream.com. UStream is a way to broadcast live and to archive past live events. Please go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/livestrong-summit every day at 11am CST (5-6pm Dublin time) to view recaps from the days events brought to you by staffers Chris Brewer and Brooke McMillan.

Twitter, hashtags and polls: Follow @LIVESTRONG, @LIVESTRONGCEO (Doug Ulman), @LIVESTRONGCB (Chris Brewer) and @LanceArmstrong for behind the scenes tweets from the event. There are also several staff and attendees that will be tweeting. We will all be “tagging” our tweets #LIVESTRONG. Go to our bloghttp://livestrongblog.org/ to follow tweets from the Summit. Each day we will be asking for your thoughts on various topics, so look our for twtpolls. We want your input!

Facebook Updates: If Facebook is your cup of tea, make sure to become a fan of LIVESTRONG. We will be constantly updating our status throughout the event.
YouTube postings:When we are not live streaming, we will be videoing parts of the summit, giving you walk through “tours” of the historic buildings and more. Check in daily www.youtube.com/LIVESTRONGArmy.

Flickr photos: Daily uploads of photos from the event will be added to LIVESTRONG’s Flickr photostream.

LIVESTRONGblog.org: The LIVESTRONG Blog will serve as a hub for all communications around the Summit. There will be multiple blog postings each day highlighting attendees, panel discussions and more. If you remember one thing, remember to tune into http://livestrongblog.org/

In short, there will be MANY ways to “attend” the Summit. We hope that you will take part and stay up to date. We will begin updating starting as soon as we get to the Emerald Isle. We are looking forward to sharing this historic event with the world!

Comic Creators for Captain Cure

What began as a week long LIVESTRONG Summit in 2008, springloaded some friendships between folks that may never have met otherwise, but that shared an intense desire to change the world when it comes to the cancer epidemic. In my case, it was working with some incredible individuals, as part of my Summit Delegates Fundraising Track team's projects.

One of those individuals that truly "gets" the spirit of the Cures Rock! Campaign to smash cancer is Ty Wakefield. He's got a heart of a lion and a super-power of tremendous passion to raise awareness about sarcoma cancer. You've heard about Captain Cure Comics before...and now, the comic book #2 is almost ready to be released!

** For Immediate Press Release ** CC 4 CC!

PUYALLUP, Washington (August 15, 2009) -

Cancer, it effects almost everyone in one way or another, and creators of different worlds are no different. Comic book creators from around the US will be joining together for one of their own at Comic Evolution, 206 South Meridian Road, in Puyallup, starting at noon. Special Guests include Kurt Busiek, Mike Grell, Brandon Jerwa, Mark Rahner, and Rick Hoberg. All proceeds from the event going to Ty Wakefield, cancer fighter and creator of Captain Cure Comics.

Captain Cure Comics were born in a hospital room, while Ty was undergoing chemotherapy. Ty has been fighting Osteosarcoma for a little over 2 and half years. "When I researched my type of cancer, I found that maybe 1% of adult cancers are sarcoma, but 15%-20% of childhood cancers are sarcomas, I thought I need to reachout and help, but how?" and then it happened, with just a cheap pen, a napkin, and an idea Captain Cure was born. Captain Cure starts with our heros Jack and Diane, two kids diagnosed with cancer who find unexpected side-effects of the chemo...Superpowers. Their alter-egos: Captain Cure and Metrex fight Cancer and his goons, Sick and Tired for control of the body. Some of the proceeds from the sale of the books going to different charities helping both children and adults fighting cancer. "The comic serves an addional purpose in that it made the stigma of cancer an easy concept for younger readers" Chuck Messinger, Comic Evolution.

The event itself was the brainchild of Chuck and some of Ty's friends in the comic book industry, Alan Burnett of Blackbox Comics and Adam Watson of Darkslinger Comics. "Adam and Alan asked if they could help me out, being that I've help so many others, and at which I blushed and said "Sure if you want" I'm just not used to something like that." Ty Wakefield, and so together the 3 of them started CC4CC. Chuck was able to bring some of the best in the indusry to the even, Mike Grell, artist and writer of such titles as "Batman", "Superboy", and most recently "Warlord. Kurt Busiek, award winning writer of such titles as "Superman", "Conan", and "Astrocity". Brandon Jerwa, writer for "G.I Joe", "Battlestar Galactica" and "Highlander" comics. Seattle Times pop culter critic, Mark Rahner, who just publishe "Rotten" and new comic debuting in 2009, and Rick Hoberg, a comic book artist for "Batman: Brave and the Bold", "Green Arrow", and the "Justice League" he was also an animator for Hanna Barbara.

"We will be hosting an entourage of comic industry leaders for a night to be remembered. Starting at Noon we will have a book signing/Q&A with the artists in attendance. To add to that we will have live music, a huge raffle, and art exclusive to the show on display for sale. The real treat begins at 6pm, when we will have a price per head “Night with the Stars”, where fans of the industry can just hang out with their favorite artists and writers." Chuck Messinger of Comic Evolution. If you would like to get tickets for tonights dinner talk to Chuck or call the store. "I'm so excited, I never thought I would ever meet any of these artists and writers. Thank You so much."

Contact:
Chuck Messinger, owner Comic Evolution
e-mail: chuck@comic-evolution.com
Website: www.comic-evolution.com
Phone: (253)-770-6464

Pics:
#1: Julie Westcott & Ty Wakefield
#2: Ty Wakefield autographing Captain Cure Comics

Beyond the Epic Run (Part II)

I'm working on a new Cures Rock! fundraising project, which continues my journey of using the activity of endurance running to help kick cancer to the curb. I'll reveal it next week, but it's a campaign that seems almost impossible at this moment. However, when I thought about "going beyond the epic run," I know it's just a matter of putting heart and soul into it.

In May 2009, I added a blog post regarding my interviews with Serge, the runner in the movie, Beyond the Epic Run. I went back through my interview videos with Serge to draw inspiration, and have included outtakes of it below that I didn't include in the first post. Click here to read the Part I blog post.

Cures Rock: What would you say to other runners that would want to do something to make a difference, and run for something other than themselves?

Serge: "You don’t make big things. You first need to try to do well at the very small things, step by step, mile after mile, marathon after marathon…and that’s maybe more important than trying to succeed at the very big things. Just try to do well, step by step, whatever you have a feeling to do. And, never forget --- it’s a great chance to do some sports…any kind…cycling or running or whatever...because it’s a privilege to be born in a rich country and to be in good shape. My motivation came because I met a million people that are just trying to survive."

When I asked about why he was running for the kids and charities, he responded, "I was just running to try to do something well for my neighbor, and for kids, because they're the best things for whom you can run."

His team seemed to always be surrounded by kids as he ran because it was a strange sight -- can you imagine seeing a man run in the middle of the country, high desert, tropical areas, high altitude, etc.?! It’s normal at the Boston Marathon (where I met Serge and Nicole) to have 25,000 runners in the streets, but it had to seem crazy to see a man running through the middle of the Sahara or running through Cairo. "A lot of kids are coming to take a look. They are so spontaneous. We were running for kids, and in the end, we were surrounded by them during a lot of runs. The kids were our best fan club. Then you know it’s not just a sports life, but a human way of life. "

Cures Rock: Was there a moment of your journey that stands out to you?

Serge: "I remember running and raising funds for a clinic through Vision Quest that will fix the eyes for free. I remember meeting an 11 year old that was blind. She was so poor, she would have remained that way for the rest of her life, but the doctor fixed her eyes with a simple surgery. She was jumping up and down, and into the arms of the doctor. 'It’s a miracle!, she said. For the first time in my life I can imagine playing with my friends, and now I can imagine going to school.' With one small surgery, it was a new life for her. At that moment, I realized what we did for that girl. It’s amazing how you can make a difference with very small things. You can do big things in your life, if you just try to do well in the very small things. Every little moment matters. We didn’t change the world, but we try to do well step by step every day."

Personally, I think he changed her world. Serge and his wife, Nicole, took a step of faith. "We took the risk to lose everything before we even knew we'd succeed one step," he pondered. "We sold our house, car, and all our possessions. It’s easy to speak years later after we look back and see everything we achieved, but at the time, we had no clue if we'd succeed.

So many people are dreaming, but they do not want to take the risk to lose. They want to win AND keep safe. I think to succeed at a great adventure and a huge challenge, you have to take the risk to lose everything. And, after that, then you’ll be ready to finally begin to push yourself."

We talked about the Cures Rock! Campaign and projects, and he offered me some sound advice. "Just try to do well at what you have to do today. Don’t ask in your brain and hold onto hope for what will be the end. If you hurry and focus on the outcome, you’ll never succeed. Doing well day after day at all the small things without being focused on the outcome is enough. We may have no money, but we are extremely rich."

Namaste.

Fight Like Susan

Our hearts go out to Elden and his family after reading his post on FatCyclist.com. Your blog and stories about Susan have been an inspiration to so many of us. You have our deepest sympathies, and we will continue to honor her memory and the charge she's started by continuing to fight like Susan!

Below is the most recent post on FatCyclist.com I wanted to share:

Don’t Say She Lost:

Susan died tonight (August 5) at 7:25pm. It was a hard, long day, and Susan fought right to the end, for much longer than anyone would have thought she could.
My mom, my sisters Kellene and Jodi, and my Brother-in-Law Rocky were all here to support my family as Susan passed away.I’ll have more to say soon, but consider this. Susan inspired me to expand the focus of my blog from nothing but bike-related jokes to a serious and pitched fight against cancer.

Then she inspired 500+ of you to join Team Fatty, the largest LiveStrong Challenge Team there has ever been.And Team Fatty has raised more than $500,000 — a record amount.

Susan’s part in the battle is over, but she didn’t lose. She led the charge. She showed the rest of us how to fight: with determination, focus, creativity, and outrageous endurance.

Now it’s up to the rest of us to Fight Like Susan.