It’s hard to believe that as I write this it is already July 8th. It feels like the summer is zooming by, but maybe that’s because we didn’t have much of a spring – we went from constant rain to beautiful summer, but it does feel as if it is going quickly.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Lee Helman, Scientific Clinical Director for the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute. I truly enjoyed my conversation with him and one thing he mentioned, which oftentimes is forgotten, is that while yes, we have made progress in the area of some forms of childhood cancer, some of those who survive their battle continue to spend an inordinate amount of time in pain, in the hospital, and dealing with respiratory or kidney problems as a result of their treatments. We often think that when someone is told there is no sign of cancer in the body that the battle is over and they will go on to live a full life free of pain and hospital visits, but with remission sometimes comes a high price to pay, not only economically, but physically and emotionally as well. We still have a ways to go before we can say we have been truly successful and I look forward to helping Dr. Helman promote the important work that he and his colleagues are doing.
Through our conversation we realized that we knew a number of the same people and Dr. Helman mentioned that he had recently had dinner with Dr. Harvey Cohen. Dr. Cohen was Director of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology at University of Rochester Medical Center in the 80s and early 90s. Dr. Cohen is a great friend and was one of our doctors at Camp Good Days who now is Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Director of Palliative Care at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at the Stanford University School of Medicine. After chatting with Dr. Helman, I decided to send a note to Dr. Cohen and was so excited to have a note back from him yesterday morning. It was great to catch up with him and he even sent me a photo of him, his wife, and their grandchildren – wow how the time flies!
On Thursday morning, Julia Vosburgh came to see me at the office. I have known Julia since she was four years old, as her Dad, Paul, is my boss at St. John Fisher College, where I am an Assistant Football Coach. I have watched Julia grow into a beautiful young lady – both on the outside and inside - and I was so honored that she came to see me to ask me if I would provide the blessing at her wedding reception next Saturday. Julia is a free spirit and marches to her own drum and I will tell her future husband, Adam that life with Julia will always be an adventure and she will keep him on his toes!
On Thursday afternoon I put the top down and drove down to the Camp Good Days’ Recreational Facility to spend some time with the campers in the Childhood USA/B&ST Alumni Program, which is a residential camping program for children, ages 8-17, who have a parent or sibling dealing with cancer, but whose last treatment was three or more years ago, or who have lost a parent or sibling to cancer three or more years ago. As this was the Alumni Program, I had the opportunity to see some campers who have been coming to Camp Good Days for many years and it’s so nice to have some of them grow up to become volunteers and even members of our summer staff. The campers were having a great time with each other and the volunteers and staff. The facility looks great and the highlight for me was having a front row seat for the Talent Show. It’s always amazing to see how happy the kids are at Camp Good Days, especially given the very difficult circumstances that they are dealing with.
On my drive home, I listened to “Good Days & Special Times” the Camp Good Days’ monthly radio show, which airs the first Thursday of every month at 6:30 PM on News Power 1040 AM WYSL and 92.1 FM. Rich Funke, Anchor at NEWS10NBC, and I have been hosting this show together for the past 11 years. Sarah Clapper has helped us to produce the show every month and with the folks at WYSL, we have a great team. The Camp Good Days’ Radio Show is another way to stay up-to-date with all that we have going on and if you miss the show you can get the podcast at www.wysl1040.com. This month was the first time since we have been doing this show that I was not able to be there, as I was dealing with family matters with Ron’s passing, but I listened with great interest as Rich interviewed Dr. Aram Hezel, Assistant Professor of Hematology / Oncology at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center, about the work they are doing at Wilmot and specifically about clinical trials.
This morning I had breakfast with an old friend and Camp Good Days’ supporter, Jim Mulley and one of his good friends, Bill Taylor and we chatted about our Partners Against Violence Everywhere (PAVE) Initiative, Project Exile and Project T.I.P.S. Programs and CANCER MISSION 2020. I have spent the rest of the day catching up on mail and other items in the office and am deciding if I am going to head to the Rochester Rhinos game tonight at Sahlen’s Stadium, or spend a relaxing night at home with Rebel, my bull terrier, since Wendy and Elenore, our Irish terrier are down at Camp.
The Alumni Program campers returned home this morning and tonight a group of women dealing with cancer will arrive for the Women’s Oncology Adventure Program. Our staff has put together a full weekend for the women with activities ranging from nature hikes and the adventure ropes course to kayaking, canoeing and more. I plan to head back down to Camp this weekend, as the Women’s Program is one of my personal favorites. It’s so nice to be able to see these women, who give so much of themselves on a daily basis to their families, friends, and jobs, and who have all been dealing with this horrible disease, to have a few days to just focus on their own relaxation, enjoyment, and camaraderie with the only others in the world who can truly understand all that they go through – other women dealing with cancer.
We continue to work every day on putting the pieces into place for CANCER MISSION 2020 and specifically the four Congressional District Cancer Summits we have planned for this August. The 24th Congressional District Cancer Summit with Congressman Richard Hanna will be held on Friday, August 12, 2011 in the Utica area. The 25th Congressional District Cancer Summit with Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle will be held on Monday, August 15, 2011 in the Syracuse area. The 28th Congressional District Cancer Summit with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter will be held on Thursday, August 18, 2011 in Buffalo, and the 29th Congressional District Cancer Summit with Congressman Tom Reed will be held on Thursday, August 25, 2011 at the Camp Good Days’ Recreational Facility.
We also are looking forward to meeting with our CANCER MISSION 2020 College Campus Advocates next Saturday, for an informational meeting and training session, to help prepare them to serve as ambassadors for the initiative at their schools.
We will have many more details and information about these Cancer Summits, including locations, agendas and keynote speakers, as well as the College Campus Advocate Program to share with all of you in the coming days and weeks, but again I ask you to please check out www.cancermission2020,com, sign the petition and join us in this important initiative to put an end to cancer by the end of the decade!
As we head into next week we will have completed two full camping programs for children, two sessions of our Women’s Oncology Program, and our Young Adult Program. By the end of the season, based on participation and registrations, we will have served nearly 45,000 campers over these past 32 years, and if all goes well, we will have another country represented – Ethiopia – in our Doing A World Of Good Program, bringing the total number of countries to 27. Summer is definitely in full swing now!
Wishing all of you a wonderful and safe weekend!
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