Kareem

I just came across a number of news articles about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar having cancer and more specifically, leukemia. I quickly discovered that Kareem has CML, just like me. While I would not wish such a diagnosis on anyone, I was relieved to hear that this was the type he had. It was similar to when I heard about my diagnosis and the doctors congratulated me.

I am happy that Kareem came out with this information and happier still that he will be involved with an educational campaign about the topic.

What I found disheartening was the tone that these news stories took. I got the feeling from some that Kareem was on his death bed when that was clearly not the case. He takes the same medication as me which converted this once deadly diagnosis into a chronic and manageable medical condition. Kareem continues to lead a normal life and CML will take a backseat to all of his other activities. I am hoping that Kareem's ordeal and educational will help inform the general public about the miracle of Gleevec.

Light the Night 2009 Wrap Up

I know that the Light the Night Event took place some time ago, but I have not had a chance to write until now. It has been a busy fall. Here are some pictures that we took the night of the event. It was a spectacular evening. We had a very large group of partcipants from Team Gershon and overall, there was a tremendous crowd supporting the whole event.
Our team did a wonderful job with fundraising and we we raised the most money of any private team in the state. Overall, our total was $9238. Although this is less than we have raised in past year, it is a very respectable number given the economy.

I wanted to thank everyone who donated, walked, or helped with this event. It is a powerful evening for me everytime. This was the first year both of my daughters participated. In addition, I finally had to talk to my oldest daughter about why we were doing the walk in the first place. She started asking questions this year and I knew some of her friends knew about me. I wanted to make sure I was the one who told her about my CML.Although it was a difficult conversation, it was easier than most cancer discussions given my prognosis and treatment options.

In other CML news, there was nice article in the New York Times last week about Dr. Druker and Gleevec. You can read it by clicking here.

Thanks again for making the Light the Night Walk 2009 a magical evening.