Hey everyone first of all let me say thank you for coming and checking out this site. The reason I started this site is that I am running the Baltimore Half Marathon in October through Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I wanted to run in this race to honor several people very close to me that have died of cancer and to help other people who have been diagnosed with cancer. I am trying to raise money in order to participate in this event and would appreciate any type of support that any body would care to give to me. So thank you for your time and support.

Ash

I thought I would just give everyone a little background information on Leukemia and Lymphoma. Leukemia is a malignant disease(cancer) of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. An estimated 30,800 new cases of leukemia will be diagnosed in the United States this year. In the United States there are approximately 2,800 children diagnosed each year with leukemia. At present, there are approximately 166,359 people in the United States living with leukemia. It is anticipated that approximately 21,700 deaths in the United States will be attributed to leukemia by 2002-12,100 males and 9,600 females.Leukemia is the most common cause of cancer death among men under age 40. Among women, leukemia is the leading cause of cancer death before age 20.

Lymphoma is a general term for a group of cancers that originate in the lymphatic system. Lymphoma results when a lymphocyte(a type of white blood cell) undergoes a malignant change and begins to multiply, eventually crowding out healthy cells and creating tumors which enlarge the lymph nodes or other sites in the body. About 60,900 Americans were diagnosed with lymphoma in 2002.An estimated 25,800 persons will die of lymphoma in the U.S. in 2002.

I just received information today about my Honored Teammate. An honored teammate is a Maryland child who is a Leukemia Survivor, in whose honor I will be training and fundraising for throughout this prgoram. My honored teammate is named Justin Knight, he is turning 11 years old on June 5. Justin was diagnosed with Acute Lymphotic Leukemia when he was 6 years old, he had three harsh years of chemotherapy and is now in remission. Justin and his family are just one of thousands who need help in their fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma, if you would like to help me help Justin please consider being a donor for my half marathon.