Nancy Bernstein is a mother at my son Lucas’ school. We have adored her daughter, Ruby, ever since she and Lucas first became kindergarten classmates. Early on, we had a great playdate to make these holiday cards for her fundraising effort, Call to Cure, to sell and raise funds for cancer research. The results make a unique gift and are a great way to send holiday cards!
Below is a letter from Nancy explaining what Call to Cure is all about and how you can help.
“My name is Nancy Bernstein. In addition to being a working mother to my five-year-old daughter, a domestic partner of almost fourteen years, a daughter, a sister, and a friend, I also have cancer. I have stage IV Metastasized Colorectal Cancer for which there is no current cure. The average life expectancy for someone with this stage of this disease is two years. That is not nearly enough time for me. I have no intention of succumbing to this average. I am fighting, but I need your help.
I am very lucky to be in the care of Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz at USC Norris Cancer Center. Dr. Lenz is an amazing research doctor in his field, who is committed to increasing life expectancy and quality of life for cancer patients just like me. I am dedicated to making Dr. Lenz and his team successful.
Call to Cure is a call to action. It is a fund designed to take some control and see significant results in shorter amounts of time. With the help and support of Dreamworks Animation, SKG, we plan to raise specific targeted amounts of money for specific research programs, under the direction of Dr. Lenz at USC Norris.
The first program we are funding is to further research the efficacy of the colon cancer drug, Avastin. Dr. Lenz developed a unique model at USC Norris that he would use to further understand why patients become resistant to the drug, and consequently, why the cancer spreads. Dr. Lenz’ group has identified novel molecular markers predicting the efficacy of Avastin. This model can test Avastin along with molecular evaluation of the tumor cells. In addition, his group is testing whether the drug Dr. Lenz PRI 724 will enhance the efficacy of Avastin to design an entire new generation of clinical trials, having even more impact and efficiency in treating and curing colon cancer. This research has just begun, and we have more projects ready to launch.
Support the work of Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz. You will be helping me and many others just like me. I promise. This is a ‘call to cure