Directly fund thyroid cancer research grants!

On Sunday, April 29th, I will be running my third trail half-marathon to raise money for the Bite Me Cancer Foundation, a great local charity dedicated to helping teenagers battling any type of cancer as well as raising awareness of thyroid cancer and funding research grants into better treatments and hopefully a cure.

BMC is a small non-profit with an all-volunteer staff, so 100% of your donation goes directly to either cancer research or helping a teenager with cancer. For more information, please visit www.bitemecancer.org.

Many people believe that thyroid cancer can be cured by "taking a little pill," when the reality is that thyroid cancer is not curable and is a lifelong illness. Thyroid cancer patients receive life-long treatment and follow-ups and live with often debilitating side-effects. The RAI (radioactive iodine) treatment also puts patients, particularly young women, at a higher risk for breast cancer and leukemia. The disease returns as much as 30% of the time and can metastasize to lymph nodes, bones, lungs, mouth, and the brain. While most cases of thyroid cancer are treatable, 2000 people die each year in the United States alone from the disease, including Roger Ebert, Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Esther Earl, the girl whom inspired the book and movie "The Fault in Our Stars". Esther died at 16 from thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer disproportionately affects women and young people and is second cancer most likely to lead to bankruptcy.

I was diagnosed with a rare type of follicular thyroid cancer known as Hürthle cell carcinoma five years ago. My daughter had just turned two. I underwent two major neck surgeries and RAI. It was exhausting, painful, terrifying, and made worse by the fact most people were so nonchalant about it since thyroid cancer is sometimes called the "good" cancer due to its higher survival rate.

One of Bite Me Cancer's objective is to dispel this harmful myth as well as raise money to fund thyroid cancer research. They have funded 4 grants and are working to fund their 5th. I would love to raise the money to fully fund their fifth grant as very little money is allocated to thyroid cancer research , despite it being the cancer most on the rise worldwide and one of the few cancers whose death rate has actually increased.

You can help make a difference by donating! Your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by law.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support! It means more than words can express. Together we really can make a difference!!

With hope and love,
Vanessa