We wanted to let everyone know that we have a special promotion running right now. Donate $15 and receive ten LIVESTRONG wristbands and a Lance Armstrong Foundation bumper sticker.

Our programs and services depend on the generosity of our supporters, so if you’ve been thinking about donating for a while now, let this be your excuse to give.

Donate Today.

A newly released report shows that suicide risk is higher in cancer patients than the general population. In fact, the incidence of suicide among U.S. cancer patients is nearly twice that of the general population, and suicide rates vary among patients with cancers of different anatomic sites, according to a study published online August 11 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). Surprisingly, the risk remained elevated for as long as 15 years after diagnosis.

Researchers from the University of Washington analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data from nearly 3.6 million patients diagnosed with cancer from 1973 to 2002. They compared those data, which included 5,838 suicides, with data from the U.S. general population collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. The cancer patients had an adjusted rate of 31.4 suicides per 100,000 person-years, compared with 16.7 suicides in the general population. Suicide rates were particularly high for cancers of the lung/bronchus (81.7), stomach (71.7), oral cavity/pharynx (53.1), and larynx (46.8).

Two other studies that examined the association between cancer and suicide appear in the same issue of JCO. The second study, using data from Medicare patients in New Jersey, found that the “risk of suicide in older adults is higher among patients with cancer than among patients with other medical illnesses, even after psychiatric illness and the risk of dying within a year were accounted for.” A third study of cancer center patients in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, found, “A substantial number of cancer outpatients report thoughts that they would be better off dead or had thoughts of hurting themselves.”

In an editorial, Dr. Timothy Quill of the University of Rochester Medical Center, noted, “What is interesting and potentially important about the studies is that these thoughts about suicide and the associated risk factors that are relatively well known for terminally ill patients may be just as important for those patients with cancer who are survivors or are living with the disease.”

The LAF has created a program to assist those affected by cancer in dealing with the emotional challenges and changes that come with cancer, LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare. It is a free service that provides one-on-one counseling with trained social workers and case managers to help in addressing the myriad of issues facing cancer survivors, whether they be emotional, physical, or financial. The program can also help connect individuals to local support groups and services if needed. Individuals can connect to LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare by calling 866-235-7205 or though the LAF website at LIVESTRONG.org/CancerSupport.

Please make sure your friends and family members who have been affected by cancer know of this valuable resource and encourage them to not underestimate the emotional impact cancer can have on their lives, even years after they have completed treatment.

(Special thanks to the NCI Cancer Bulletin for highlighting this important research.)

Today the Lance Armstrong Foundation received the CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation from the CEO Roundtable on Cancer for its commitment to implement workforce policies that will ensure healthy lifestyles and access to the best care for all its employees. The CEO Roundtable on Cancer is comprised of corporate executives from major American companies. The Roundtable was formed after a request from President George H.W. Bush to bring together a group of executives to ensure that leaders from private industry play a prominent role in the national effort to eradicate cancer. These executives established the Gold Standard recommendations as means by which to fight cancer by meeting three goals:

• Risk Reduction through Lifestyle Change: reducing the risk of cancer,
• Early Detection: detecting cancer at the earliest possible stage, when treatment has the best chance of improving outcomes, and
• Quality Care: ensuring access to the best available cancer treatment.

The CEO Roundtable on Cancer is also an active partner in the recently released National Call to Action on Cancer Prevention and Survivorship by U.S. Surgeons General Carmona, Satcher, Elders, and Novello. The Gold Standard served as a model strategy for the role businesses could play in taking up the charge of the National Call to Action by implementing evidence-based health strategies at the workplace. Companies that receive accreditation develop and enact workplace policies that commit to their employees a tobacco-free work environment, access to tobacco cessation tools, a workplace that provides healthy foods and activities, education of and access to screening and early detection approaches, and access to cancer clinical trials. Achieving all of these pillars will ensure that the company’s focus is on its employees health and welfare.

While it is an honor for the LAF to receive this accreditation, it is also a privilege that Lance, Doug, and the LAF leadership have committed to making sure that LAF leads not only by words, but also by example, making sure that the Foundation truly is a Gold Standard workplace that focuses on its employees health. But it is also important to spread this initiative to all companies and workplaces. The Gold Standard needs become the Standard. Any company can receive this accreditation by committing to and achieving five pillars set up by the Roundtable. For more information on CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation click here.

I spent a long weekend reading and trying to recharge for what will be a very exciting next few months.

First, I want to be very clear about what happened last Thursday in Austin. I was honored to be recognized by the Austin Business Journal but that award is quite simply a direct result of my colleagues hard work and the energy and passion of everyone involved in our shared movement. Thank you for leading this mission with us and making these recognitions possible.

Secondly, a lot of the Olympic athletes have been wearing the yellow wristband. It has been great to see the number of yellow wristbands all over the Olympic games. What an incredible message.

This is a global movement. It may have started in Austin with our educational resource called “Livestrong.” It may have been born in combination with Nike when they decided to honor Lance in such a big public way.

But clearly now this is a movement. A global one. It means so much to so many. It is about overcoming cancer. It is about overcoming any obstacle in your life. It is about living strong. And it belongs to anyone who wants to own a part. It is therefore not the LAF’s movement. It is not Lance’s movement. It is “our” movement. We all share in the work, the committment and the results we desire. Thanks for being a part of your movement and for letting us be a part of it.

Finally, I had it put this off long enough. I planned and made a promise to myself that I would read “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch this weekend.

I read it in four hours. It was an easy read. It was personal. It hit me hard in many ways. You see I had put this off for a reason. Of course I had watched his lecture on you tube, seen clips of him on t.v. and admired from afar his efforts in D.C. to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.

After all this time, and sadly after Randy’s passing, I needed to read it. It was hard for me to start reading it due to the similarities in our background. Let me be very clear. I don’t know Randy. I don’t know his wife Jai.

He did however grow up in Columbia, Maryland where I was born and raised. He also attended Brown University where I was fortunate enough to go to school.

I know nothing about computer science which was Randy’s area of expertise. Nothing. Although I did take a web design class my freshman year at Brown and I often think back to those days and imagine what would have happened if I had pursued a career in that field during the mid-1990’s when web design and technology start-ups were taking off. It never hurts to dream about what might have been. Luckily I wasn’t very good at web design.

I have read a ton about Andy Van Dam who was Randy’s professor at Brown and who seemingly took him under his wing and helped shape his career and his life.

The values he describes in the book are ones that ring true for me. They were taught to him by his parents. They are the values of the community in which we were raised.

There was just something about the mix of Columbia, Maryland, Brown University, and cancer. All too close to home, literally.

So after all the hemming and hawing I read the book sitting outside over the weekend. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It hit me hard. It was spot on with respect to so many things.

It made me think about the shared journey we are all on. It forced me to think about the movement he created with his speech.

Movements are not designed from scratch. Typically a movement is instigated by someone’s actions. Someone’s heroics. Someone’s stance or words. Randy Pausch started a movement after his lecture. He didn’t set out to do this. That wasn’t his goal.

He will be sorely missed but his legacy has already gone way beyond what he imagined. Our movement must grow stronger, must stay focused, and must be ultimately successful - Randy would want that.

I sure am glad I read the book.

Doug

Just wanted everyone to be aware of one of our own being honored for his outstanding work. Doug was nominated by Lance as one of the Austin Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes. This morning, he was chosen as the winner from a field of outstanding competition. Way to go, boss!

Lance Armstrong Found. Pres. named hero
AUSTIN, Texas - President and CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Doug Ulman, received the ‘Health Care Hero’ award from the Austin Business Journal’s public health category.

Ulman won this award based on his contributions to health care in Central Texas.

In 2007, Ulman helped promote the constitutional amendment to create a Texas Cancer Prevention and Research Institute. Ulman also organized the LIVESTRONG Survivorship Notebook, a resource for cancer survivors in low-income or uninsured families.

“I am honored to be recognized the Austin Business Journal as a health care hero. The true heroes, in my opinion, are the people who live with cancer every day and fight the disease with all they’ve got,” said Ulman.

Link

Greetings from Leadville,CO. I had the privilege of racing in the Leadville 100 this past weekend and it was a total blast. The crowds were great and the race was dare I say fun. Dave Wiens was an absolute monster out there and rode a great race. My hats off to him for his sixth straight victory. Special thanks to Ken and his staff and all the folks who came on out to cheer on the 1000 riders.

Thanks

Lance

We get the word from our man (and LAF Endowment Board Member) Larry O’Reilly: Lance took a very respectful 2nd place Saturday at Leadville as 42 year old Dave Wiens continued his amazing streak, beating Lance by two minutes to take his 6th consecutive title.

The Leadville Trail 100 begins at the old mining town of Leadville with 1,000 participants setting out at 10,500 feet and climbing to a maximum elevation of 12,600 feet. En route, racers tackle 14,000 feet of climbing in total. (CyclingNews.com)

Lance’s strategy was to stay on the wheel of Wiens and see how things would play out. On the 50 mile out route the duo were in a 7-man chase group with 2 other riders off the front. By the second checkpoint all 9 riders were together, but on the 10 mile climb up Columbine to the halfway mark and the return down, Wiens and Lance had distanced themselves and held a 5 minute gap that would never be brought back.

On the last climb of the day, a 5 mile paved climb up to Turquoise Lake the 2 men on the front traded places to the summit. But it was the final 10 miles and the descent down St Kevins that would determine the day. “At the end I realized I was totally cooked … I haven’t done a 7-hour ride in four and half years,” Lance said afterwards, telling Weins he was done and to go on. Then there’s a saying in mountain biking, “It’s not a party until somebody bleeds,” and it was Lance unfortunately that got the party going, crashing on the final descent as Wiens got away for good.

Wiens would go on to hold his lead and come in first, shattering his own race record by nearly 13 minutes, with Lance soon after (also besting the previous course record). An amazing accomplishment for both athletes indeed! And now you know…

Today begins the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympicsm

Tonight, Lopez Lomong will have the honor of carrying the American flag.

Lopez has a very unique story. At age 6, he was abducted from a Sudanese church by a militia faction that wanted to turn young boys into child soldiers. He eventually escaped the militia camp through a hole in a fence with three older boys who carried them on their backs as they walked for three days until they reached Kenya, where police arrested them and sent them to a refugee camp. He spent 10 years in the camp, living on one meal a day. Lopez learned of a program that sought to relocate 3,500 refugees to the U.S. After an interview with a U.S. embassy official, Lopez resettled with a family in New York and attended Northern Arizona University where he began to pursue his Olympic dreams. Lopez Lomong embodies what it means to LIVESTRONG.

Tomorrow Lance will be competing in the 15th annual Race Across the Sky in Leadville, CO. This will be his first competive bike race since he last won the Tour de France in 2005. Below is an article put out by the AP about his race on Saturday.

Armstrong to race in Leadville Trail 100

Associated Press

Lance Armstrong is set to race in the Leadville Trail 100 on Saturday, a grueling 100-mile race in the Rockies of 1,000 mountain bike riders that left Floyd Landis battered and bleeding last year.

Armstrong’s appearance in the 15th annual Race Across the Sky is the “‘hugest’ thing that’s happened to Leadville since we discovered gold,” proclaimed Ken Chlouber, the race’s co-founder. “The whole town is buzzing and we are way beyond excited.”

But Armstrong, who has turned his competitive juices to running marathons since his retirement from competitive cycling three years ago, cautioned that nobody should expect him to cross the finish line first.

The favorite, he said, has to be Dave Wiens, who beat Landis by two minutes last year to win his fifth straight title in a record time of 6 hours, 58 minutes, 47 seconds.

“A race like this takes a lot of experience and endurance. He has that. So, I guess he’s the odds-on favorite,” Armstrong said Wednesday. “I would reiterate that I’ll be happy if I’m top-five. I don’t think I’m in it to win it, as they say.”

Armstrong hasn’t finished a competitive bike race since winning his seventh straight Tour de France in 2005. Earlier this year, he dropped out of the “Miles of DisComfort” mountain bike race in the Texas hill country after 43 miles, nine miles shy of the finish.

Wiens suggested Armstrong was either setting him up or selling himself short.

“I don’t think Lance does anything on a lark. I think he’ll be prepared,” Wiens told The Associated Press. “I don’t know how prepared Floyd was last year. What I’m saying is, if we were equally prepared, I just can’t see where those guys wouldn’t pummel me.”

Chlouber said it’s Wiens who was the one being modest.

“Dave Wiens is super human. He’s just as fantastic on mountain bikes as Lance Armstrong is on road bikes,” Chlouber said.

“Everyone’s talking about Lance and me,” Wiens said. “But there’s a dozen other guys capable of winning.”

That’s because Landis’ presence last year raised the race’s profile, attracting other elite athletes such as Armstrong, he said.

The race begins at the old mining town of Leadville with 1,000 riders making the 50-mile out-and-back trek in one of the country’s toughest single-day races. It starts at 10,500 feet and climbs to more than 14,000 feet.

“I fully expect to get beat up,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong’s longtime personal cycling coach, Chris Carmichael, is signed up for Saturday’s race again and hopes to beat his personal best time of just over nine hours.

“I don’t know if I can beat Wiens, but I’m 100 percent sure I can beat Carmichael,” Armstrong said. “I will be home, showered and probably three beers in by the time Carmichael gets back.”

Armstrong said he doesn’t have any plans for any more bike races down the road.

A survivor of testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain, Armstrong spends much of his time tending to his LIVESTRONG foundation dedicated to healthy living and fighting cancer.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Link to article

This past Sunday, an e-mail with the subject line: “Thanks” popped up in my inbox. In the days following the LIVESTRONG SUMMIT, we’ve received countless expressions of gratitude and re-affirmations of commitment to the LIVESTRONG Army and this War on Cancer. In the LIVESTRONG community, appreciation is frequently exchanged. However, as you will see from the e-mail below, many only recently discovered this powerful exercise of unity, knowledge and attitude at the LIVESTRONG SUMMIT. We hear “thank-you” on this end every day, but the true gratitude is owed to brave leaders like Barbara and Allen Segal. Thanks to you both for having the courage to share your story and the conviction to fight back by starting a local LIVESTRONG Army!

Dear Sarah and Jamie,

For seven years we remained silent, unable to voice our pain or expose the depth of our wounds. Diagnosed with stage four, non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, my husband Allen, was vilified by his medical colleagues for having the audacity to contract a disease which not only evoked terror, but threatened to destroy the collective armor of invisibility donned by his fellow physicians. The aftermath of our cancer experience was fraught with additional injustices when the world renowned medical institution where Allen had been both patient and practitioner suddenly viewed him as damaged goods. Physically compromised by aggressive treatment, he was unable to comply with an order to return to full time employment. After twenty three years of an esteemed medical career, Allen was labeled a financial liability and discarded like a remnant of trash. Broken and disillusioned we were surviving, but not living strong.

It wasn’t until last weekend at the LIVESTRONG SUMMIT that we experienced a transforming moment in our cancer journey. Surrounded by a consortium of courageous, compassionate, resilient warriors, we harnessed the strength to begin to heal. In four short days we broke seven long years of imposed silence. And in the near future when we return to combat once again, it will be by choice; with the understanding we will not be alone in the trenches. As a member of the LAF army, we will fight to insure that no one impacted by cancer is forced to walk down a path marred by preventable impediments until the day we stand as a nation under one army, untied by the commitment to eradicate cancer.

Thank you for helping us take the first critical step towards healing and in turn allowing us to advocate so that we may all live strong.

Our deepest thanks,
Barbara Bruck & Allen Segal