Hi everyone,
 
In mid-September of this year, I will be heading out on a solo canoe trip across one of the widest sections of the 1.1-million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota .  I’ve wanted to do a one-way trip, crossing the Boundary Waters, for a long time.  However, based on the way that this past year has played out, I’ve decided to make the trip about more than a celebration of wild places and intact ecosystems.

As some of you may know, the calendar in Microsoft Outlook sends reminders when an event on the calendar is approaching.  A week ago, it sent me a reminder that said, “Due in 13 hours, Visit Ben”.   I am just finishing a research cruise in the Gulf of Maine and, when I put the note in the calendar some time ago, I had thought that this would be a good time to swing over to upstate New York to visit Ben Tassinari, a friend who had been struggling with stomach cancer for 10 months or so.  But instead, in late April, Ben passed away at the age of 30, and I found myself at his funeral.  The word never made it to my calendar in Microsoft Outlook.

After Ben’s funeral, I stayed with my brother, sister-in-law and two-year-old niece (Matt, Katie and Cassidy) in Rye, NY before flying home to Minneapolis .  Two weeks later, Cassidy was diagnosed with leukemia; she began what will be an over-two-year-long chemotherapy treatment, nearly died from an intestinal infection, and is now (four months later and as I write this) in remission and making her way downstairs after a nap, excited for more rounds of hide n’ seek.  I am sitting on the couch waiting for her.
 
I don’t live in a bubble – I know that these stories are not unique to me, and that they are happening all the time, to all sorts of people (including most of you).  I also know that they are occurring more and more frequently.  It is because of this that I am using this canoe trip as means to raise awareness and money to help address the CAUSES of cancer.  According to the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, most cases of cancer are linked to environmental causes and, in principle, can therefore be prevented.  Research on improving cancer treatment is essential; however, the amount of time and money spent on addressing environmental causes and prevention currently pales in comparison.  This needs to change.
 
The distance across the section of the Boundary Waters that I hope to cross is approximately 85 miles; the route includes 44 lakes, 2 rivers and 55 portages; and the entire trip will take just under two weeks to complete (weather and logistics may affect the actual distance traveled).  When I complete the trip in late September, I will donate a dollar for every mile traveled to the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, which promotes research on the environmental causes of cancer and educates the public about environmental risk factors.  Please visit:

www.richpagen.com/cancer.htm

for information on how you can sponsor me by making a donation yourself, links to organizations involved in cancer research and treatment, as well as photos, stories, and details about the canoe trip itself.

Thanks for taking the time to read.  And please forward this to anyone and everyone who you think might be interested in following along or participating in the fundraising effort.
 
thanks,
 
rich pagen

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About the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute:
 
The National Cancer Institute tells us that approximately two-thirds of all cancers are caused by things in the environment or the world around us - yet relatively little research has been conducted on the relationship between the environment and cancer.

The purpose of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is to promote further research on the environmental causes of cancer and educate the public about what we already have learned. Specific goals of the Center for Environmental Oncology include:

- promoting and performing research that identifies causes of cancer in the environment;
- teaching health professionals how to look for environmental risk factors in their patients;
- informing patients, their families and communities about cancer risks and ways to reduce their chance of recurrence;
- providing healthy options regarding exercise, nutrition and avoidable chemical exposures;
- evaluating public policies to determine how they affect the environment and health; and
- testing ways of reducing cancer risk through "greening" buildings, including hospitals.