It’s been a really eventful year. Lindsay successfully defended her dissertation, culminating many years of hard work. She will begin this fall as a Research Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and will also teach a course called Race, Ethnicity, and Health at Northeastern University. Andrés graduated on schedule from Boston College with his MBA! He has been working for the past two months at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts as a Senior Process and Data Analyst in the Underwriting Administration Department.

After last year’s bike ride, Andrés had a successful second surgery and completed 7 cycles of chemotherapy over 6 months. His latest scans show no tumor growth! Three weeks after the end of his treatment on March 15, we got engaged and Andrés surprised Lindsay by coordinating a celebration with both of our families the day after. We are planning a summer 2009 wedding!

So this brings us to the 2008 bike ride. We feel so lucky to have moved through this treatment successfully, and have access to continued excellent follow-up care! Not everyone is as lucky, and there still is a lot left to be done in the search for better treatment options and a cure for Neurofibromatosis. You may remember that Neurofibromatosis, or NF for short, is a genetic disorder that can cause uncontrolled tumor growth anywhere in or on a person’s body at any time. NF affects both sexes and all races and ethnic groups equally, and can cause deafness, brain tumors, learning disabilities, disfigurement and as Andrés experienced: cancer. NF is more prevalent than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and Huntington's disease combined. Despite this, government funding for NF research has been cut 65% over the past three years.

This is why we are asking for your support as we ride in the 4th Annual Friends Ride for Neurofibromatosis on September 13, 2008. This year the ride will have two route options (30 miles and 82.5 miles) and people from all over the country will be joining us to enjoy it. Just like last year, your donations will go to promote NF research through the Harvard Center for NF and Allied Disorders (http://www.cnfad.org/).  

Please make a donation through this page or feel free to contribute through the mail. Download the donation form by visiting: http://www.ridefornf.org/donationformALLR.doc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your donations do make a difference. Eventually we will find a cure.
A donation of any amount is very much appreciated!

Just like last year, any donation of $175 or more receives a $50 matching donation!

 

 

 

 

 Thank you so much for your support!