Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a Cancer patient’s charity in Boston received its biggest donation ever from the annual fund-raising bicycle ride.

The Jimmy Fund, which supports Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, received $26 million from the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge during a ceremony at Harvard Medical School. In August, 4,300 cyclists rode up to 192 miles across the state and raised what organizers contend is the largest sum by an athletic fund-raising event.

Nearly 43-hundred cyclists participated in the event in August and this year’s total is up by $3 million dollars from last year.

This year’s fund-raising pushes to $171 million the total brought in by the event.

“It really allows us to make a major investment in research,” said Edward J. Benz Jr., president of Dana-Farber.

“The PMC monies allow us to cover research expenses that are not well covered by federal grants,” Benz said, citing major pieces of equipment, start-up costs for recruiting scientists, and clinical and applied research, as examples.

“Without the PMC, we would really struggle to meet our mission,” Benz said. “It allows us to operate at a level of excellence and size that would be very difficult to achieve if it weren’t there.”

Dana-Farber relies heavily on unrestricted fund-raising. The Challenge’s contributions account for more than half of the unrestricted funds Dana-Farber has received from all sources, Benz said.

Run for Hope’, inspired by cancer victim Terry Fox, raised more than $200,000 for cancer research. Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan flagged off the event at Sentosa’s Tanjong Beach.

Terry Fox Runs are held in 50 countries around the world. Seoul’s has been going since 1991 — a non-competitive run or walk over five or nine kilometers to raise money for cancer research.

People can either run the whole nine kilometers as a part of competition or simply go through 5 kilometers for fun. But all of the participants, nearly 5000 of them are running for Hope

New fundraising records have been set this year for “Weekend to End Breast Cancer Walk”, raising $17.2 million funds for the Princess Margaret Hospital. This 60 kilometers walk and a two day event, is the largest, single fundraiser event in Canadian history.

With over 5000 people walking on the streets in rain, on this weekend to help battle the breast cancer, Organizers were shocked and thrilled not only with the record breaking funds raised, but with large turnout and community awareness. Paul Alofs, President and CEO of The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation stated in a press release, “We’re so grateful to the 5,382 courageous women and men walking this weekend, and to all the volunteers, Donors, and truly the entire community for their amazing support”.

After the opening ceremony, all the participants wearing pink caps left the Exhibition Palace at 7:15 a.m. They will be setting up a camp for the night at Downsview Park, after walking for 30 kilometers on Saturday. On Sunday, the participants will walk their way back to Exhibition Grounds for a closing ceremony that is to be held at Direct Energy Centre. Along the route, friends and family members are encouraged to cheer up the participants at the particular cheering stations.

Such an event has been held for the fourth year. All the raised fund will go towards Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment, research and education of breast cancer.

Southern Alberta women are posing topless in an effort to raise funds against breast cancer. There are 23 women from Calgary who have posed for Cowgirls Against Breast Cancer calendar, which was launched yesterday in Calgary. The calendar showcases all the 23 women, posing topless but not showing any breasts.

The women are believed to be from different towns of Calgary but have two things in common. Firstly, they all are involved in cattle penning and secondly that they all have been touched in one way or other because of breast cancer, said the project spokeswoman Laurel Wood. “They range in age from 30 to 70 years of age and we have everything from high executives to long-time ranchers,” said Wood, who is also Miss March.

The calendar is available at Knickers N’ Lace, K & K Livestock, the Shawnessy and Okotoks Hallmark stores, as well as Ginger Laurier and The Mill Store in Okotoks.

Kirk Saarloos, a scratch golfer and a pretty fair pitcher for the A’s, said he inherited his athletic prowess from his mother, Linda, who played softball and volleyball at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos.

Linda Saarloos stepped to the top of the mound and threw the ball a little high — but on a fly — to her son during the ceremonial first pitch at the team’s eighth annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day at McAfee Coliseum on Saturday.

“She practiced by throwing socks down the hall,” Kirk said. “She was athletic growing up.”

Saarloos was especially proud Saturday. His mother survived breast cancer when she underwent a double mastectomy in March 2005. She also beat colon cancer about 16 years ago.

“It means a lot to me and it means a lot to her,” Saarloos said. “This is a day to get people aware of breast cancer and the importance of early detection.”

The A’s announced they raised more than $100,000 for their event.

• Dan Haren’s early-inning struggles continued. He put the A’s in a 4-0 hole after three innings of a 6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles that snapped the team’s 10-game home winning streak.

In his two previous starts, Haren allowed 11 of his 12 runs in the first three innings.

“I don’t know if it’s focus or something mental or physical,” he said. “Looking back I’ve put the team in a hole, and that’s something I don’t want to do.”

• Right-hander Rich Harden said there was little stiffness a day after he threw from the front slope of the mound for the first time since he suffered a sprained right-elbow ligament in early June. Harden also played catch Saturday before the game.

• First baseman Nick Swisher was out of the lineup for the first time since Aug. 4, but his rest day was short. He replaced Mark Kotsay in the fourth inning when Kotsay’s back problems flared.

• Third baseman Eric Chavez missed a second consecutive game because of a sprained right ankle. “When he says he’ll be ready, he’ll be in there,” Manager Ken Macha said.

• Closer Huston Street (strained right groin) is eligible to come off the disabled list today, but he’s not ready. “I thought he was very tentative the way he was driving off the mound,” Macha said of Street’s session Friday

Source: Mercury News

Inspirational fundraiser and terminal cancer sufferer Jane Tomlinson has been praised by Tony Blair as she entered the final week of her 4,200-mile Ride Across America for charity.

The mother of three received the Prime Minister’s best wishes in a hand-written letter delivered to her in Washington during the latest stage of her journey from San Francisco to New York.

Mrs Tomlinson, who has so far raised around £1.25 million through a series of challenges for charities, said she was now beginning to relax as she felt the end was in sight and she would be back with her family at her home in Rothwell, Leeds, next week.

In his letter, the Prime Minister wrote: “Dear Jane. Well done on all your fundraising efforts. It’s a fantastic achievement. Good luck, Tony Blair.”

Sitting outside the White House, Mrs Tomlinson said: “It’s good to be here. It’s symbolic for me that we’ve got here on the day that we needed to arrive in order to finish the ride on Friday.”

The 42-year-old was joined by around a dozen members of staff from the British Embassy in Washington for the latest leg of the ride.

“It’s been good that they could join me and give me a bit of company,” she said.

“The overwhelming feeling is one of relief. It’s relief that the end is in sight – I’ll be home with the rest of my family next week.”

Since being diagnosed with advanced metastatic breast cancer, Mrs Tomlinson has raised more than £1.25 million for a series of charities which help cancer patients and children.

Information on her appeal, including a ride diary and details of how to make a donation, can be found at www.janesappeal.com.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved.

Many college students are beginning their pursuits in higher education with private scholarships. Each year, millions of dollars are awarded to college students as a result of private gifts that flow from alumni and donors. These scholarships help universities compete for the best and brightest students. And the beneficiaries of these scholarships are many. Universities get what they want — good students. Students get what they want — funding for college. And the community gets something too.

Lauren Mareno, a senior at Kent State University and recipient of a Reach for Excellence scholarship, has been reaching into her community and is leading campus-wide efforts to raise money for the American Cancer Society – an experience that has exposed her to new career opportunities. While she pursues a psychology degree and a certificate in non-profit management, Mareno — who lost her own father to cancer at the beginning of her freshmen year — serves as co-chair for the Relay for Life event. In April she saw the fruits of her labor blossom as more than 60 student groups participated in the 24-hour campus walkathon that raised more than $75,000.

Mareno sees more community outreach in her future and she is eager to continue raising funds for causes that are meaningful to her — and to so many others too.

CHICAGO: Hundreds of people took to Lake Michigan today to help raise money for leukemia research. They were participating in the 10th Annual Leukemia Cup Regatta.

CBS 2’s Suzanne Le Mignot spoke with a cancer survivor who took to the water this morning to raise money to find a cure.

This is 38-year-old Travis Wilhite. Looking at him, you’d never think just two years ago, he was fighting for his life. He was diagnosed with incurable Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Right now, he’s in remission.

“I realized at that point, that you know what, in order for me to continue to live like this,” said Wilhite, “to really cash in on the gift that I got of my cancer, that I needed to go out and help other people so they don’t have to go through that.”

Travis along with his wife and friends are taking part in the 10th Annual Leukemia Cup Regatta organized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They’re among the more than 600 people setting sail on Lake Michigan for the six-mile race.

There are more than 80 boats in the race. Each owner has collected donations. The goal is to raise at least $175,000, with the money going towards finding a cure for lymphoma and leukemia.

Before he set sail, Wilhite had this inspirational message for those battling cancer.

“Keep fighting, hang in there,” he said. “It does get better, I promise. You’re in my thoughts and prayers all the time and I wish you all the very, very best.”

Wilhite says raising awareness and money for cancer research is one of the greatest gifts he will ever leave behind.

In the 10 years the Leukemia Cup Regatta has taken place in Chicago, the event has raised about $1 million for research to find a cure for leukemia and lymphoma.

When Kerrianne Duffy was diagnosed with breast cancer, it seemed as if her world would fall apart.

Just weeks before she was due to marry her long-time partner Shaun at a romantic ceremony in Las Vegas, she was hit with the shocking news.

Doctors told her she was suffering from a form of the disease so aggressive it killed two-fifths of those diagnosed.

Doctors told her she was suffering from a form of the disease so aggressive it killed two-fifths of those diagnosed.

The city hairdresser was just 27 at the time and often wondered how she would cope as she fought the disease.

Today, she has put the trauma firmly behind her and is joining a host of big names in a massive fund-raising and awareness campaign.

She is one of the “faces” in Breast Cancer Care’s new 41,000 Faces campaign, which highlights the massive number of people diagnosed every year.

Celebrities such as Zoe Ball, Lorraine Kelly, Cherie Blair and Michelle Collins are among others taking part. Mrs Duffy, now 34, who works at the Ruby Rouge hair salon on Clerk Street, Edinburgh, said: “I was absolutely devastated. You think it’s something that is never going to happen to you. I was about to be married and was looking forward to my future.”

On doctors orders, she rescheduled her wedding to take place at the registry office in India Buildings and cancelled her Californian honeymoon.

“You go through so many emotions. I became angry, and thought: ‘Why me, what have I done?’ But that was very quickly replaced by the feeling that I had to beat this,” she said.

At the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, based at the Western General Hospital, Mrs Duffy endured a mastectomy, as well as intensive courses of chemo and radiotherapy.

She also suffered the trauma of her hair falling out, but was eventually given the all-clear two years later.

Mrs Duffy, of Prestonpans, East Lothian, added: “As I was diagnosed at such a young age, I felt scared and isolated.

“After all, younger women don’t get breast cancer – or so I thought – as age is still the biggest risk factor. As a younger woman who has had the disease, I wanted to help show that anyone can be affected.

“I want people to know that it’s not just women over 50 who are affected. A lot of young women also get this, and they need to be more aware of the symptoms.”

Mrs Duffy is one of 41,000 people in the UK who are diagnosed with the disease every year and charity Breast Cancer Care is urging people who have been affected by the disease to send in their photographs.

Every photograph will be displayed online and will become part of a record-breaking gallery exhibition to be launched in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Former Radio One DJ Zoe Ball decided to support the campaign, because her friend was diagnosed with the disease.

She said: “If, like me, you have been touched by breast cancer, please join me in supporting this campaign and send in your photo and help others to understand the scale of the disease.”

“This powerful campaign has received thousands of photos, but we still need plenty more.”

To find out more about breast cancer or how to include a photograph in 41,000 Faces, visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk or call 0808 800 6000.

Source: Scotsman News

People affected by male cancers such as prostate and testicular cancer are being encouraged to help take part in a fun charity walk – in a thong.

But patients, friends and family should know wearing underwear is not mandatory – entrants can also take part in fancy dress or remain fully clothed.

The 10 kilometre Rosemere ‘thongathon’ was first held in September last year. It aims to raise awareness of the prevalence of male cancers. It raises funds for research into cancer and initiatives which support people with the disease.

The event has been organised by the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, a charity committed to helping cancer patients across Lancashire and South Cumbria. The event will take place on Wednesday September 20, starting from the Flag Market in Preston city centre at 7pm. The route will take walkers back to The Rosemere Cancer Centre at the Royal Preston Hospital where refreshments will be waiting.

For a sponsorship form or further details about participating in the event please call Ron McAndrew on 01772 523598 or visit www.rosemere.org.uk.