January 10, 2008

According to the National Cancer Institute, 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.  During this fundraiser, $8,435 was contributed by 93 individuals, couples and families to help address this issue.

This Boundary Waters Cancer Canoe Trip fundraiser ended on January 8th, 2008.  However, donations can be made directly to the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute anytime.  Click here to go to an article on this fundraiser which was published in the Spring 2008 issue of Conservation Minnesota magazine (page 34).  Thank you.

Rich Pagen

November 15, 2007

Jay Cooley, the husband of a friend, died this month after a three and a half month fight with stomach cancer.  He was in his early 40's.  He requested to have his ashes spread in the Gila Wilderness Area, one of his favorite places on the planet.  Good thoughts and energy to all of his people, especially to his wife.

Finally, throughout this fundraiser I have heard many stories and received many letters.  I want to leave you with a story sent to me by a friend several months ago.  Fortunately, it has a happy ending.  Hopefully, as we spend more time, energy and money on cancer prevention and treatment, there will be more and more happy endings.

Here's the letter I received:

Rich,

"The casual relationship between the environment and cancer has regrettably been on our minds as well recently. While I am sure that an unintended result of your e-mail is that you have more-than-likely been inundated with other stories, I would like to share with you something that you rarely find on the internet, a happy story about cancer and the environment!

The story begins in Ollantaytambo Peru just a few months ago. After a week in the Galapagos (a trip I would take again in a heartbeat) and half a week in Peru , Heidi and I found ourselves in the middle of the Sacred Valley in a town not far from Cusco readying ourselves for a short train ride to the foot of Machu Picchu . As luck would have it, Heidi got the worst case of Montezuma’s revenge (wrong Spanish speaking country I know) and could barely make it on the train to Aquas Calientes, let alone up the mountain to the hidden city. She probably lost 15 lbs in 36 hours but, God love her, she eventually made it up to Machu Picchu a day thereafter. We chalked that two-day-bug up to “bad guinea pig” and made our way back to the United States after an otherwise wonderful trip.

Upon our return to the US, a gaunt (but otherwise healthy) Heidi was leaning up against the bathroom sink and noticed a lump in her right arm. Her brothers, who are both orthopedic surgeons, happened to be coming through town over the next week, and both got a look at her arm and encouraged us to go see a specialist sooner rather than later. Both of us wondered in the back of our minds (and jokingly aloud sometimes) if she had picked up a rare bug known only to the Galapagos Islands or the cloud forest of Machu Picchu . As we sit here today, it appears as if quite the opposite is the case. Not only did our trip to Ecuador and Peru not MAKE Heidi sick, but indeed seemed to REVEAL an illness, which if otherwise had gone undetected, might have in all likelihood resulted in an amputation. You see, the lump in her arm turned out to be a rare type of soft tissue cancer called a sarcoma. Since our trip in June, Heidi has now had her right biceps muscle removed and begins radiation treatments at the end of the week. The lump was aggressive and of a high grade, but was less than 3cm (catching anything before it gets to be 5cm is considered early). The margins around the cancer looked completely clear and since it seemed to be fully encapsulated within the muscle (which has now been completely removed) it also appears as if no chemotherapy is necessary! At this moment, Heidi could not be doing any better! She looks like a million bucks and to see her wearing long sleeves, you’d never know that anything ever happened. The surgeon, being quite cognizant of Heidi’s profession, did a wonderful job keeping all nerves intact and Heidi is now back at work full time with full sensation, dexterity and motor coordination in her drafting arm. While statistics say that you can’t indicate that you are cancer-free until five years after initial treatment and she still has 5-6 weeks of radiation treatments ahead of her (no more harmful or bothersome than a tanning bed from what we understand), her story so far seems unbelievable.

There have been good days and bad days over the past two months but prayers being said now are prayers of thanks rather than prayers of hope. We are now want to say that Heidi “had” cancer rather than “has” cancer but are careful with our words knowing that almost everyone has been touched by this anomalous disease. Throughout the process one can’t help but Google-this and Google-that but as seems to be the case in our bubble-less information age where the world is literally at our finger tips, one never finds good stories about cancer on the internet. My goal is to change that."

- Chris

October 10, 2007

I've received recommendations on some recent books that address the causes of cancer:

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell, Thomas M. Campbell II, John Robbins, and Howard Lyman.

The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis (FYI, Devra Davis is the Director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh, the focus of this fundraising effort).

Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time: Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer by Lynne Eldridge and David Borgeson.

Left in the Dust: How Race and Politics Created a Human and Environmental Tragedy in L.A. by Karen Piper.

Also, the Center for Environmental Oncology has redone their website, and it's now possible to donate online to them directly.  Go to http://www.upci.upmc.edu/giving/

September 24, 2007

At 10:30 AM yesterday, I paddled up to the landing on Lake, 12 days after leaving a very similar landing on Ojibway Lake far to the west. I had just traveled 82.7 miles, through 43 different lakes and rivers, and over 48 portages totaling 8.4 miles. I walked a few minutes up a winding road to a small parking area where my car sat waiting for me, about 150 road miles from the parking area at Ojibway Lake where I had left it almost two weeks ago. Some friends, colleagues, sponsors (please see the business sponsors at the bottom of this page, without whose support this trip would never have happened), and even people I've never met before contributed to moving the car to its new location while I was out paddling. I threw up my arms in excitement once I saw that it was there, its unlikely presence like magic to me, and a representation of the many ways that humans step up and unconditionally support one another.

The financial support that this cause has received thus far (59% of the way to the goal of raising $10,000 to research the causes of cancer) has been nothing short of inspiring. I just made my own donation to the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, as well as a donation to the Friends of the Boundary Waters for its efforts in keeping a wilderness so spectacular in existence. Perhaps these wilderness areas will become even more important in the years to come, serving as benchmarks to understand the changes that we humans have made to the world we live in, and the effects that these changes have upon us and our health.

I kept a daily journal on this trip and, for anyone who is interested, I have posted photos, journal excerpts, a trip route map, a list of wildlife seen, the names of the lakes and rivers traveled, as well as a summary of weather (which covered the spectrum by the way – sun, clouds, fog, rain, snow flurries, wind and such stillness that one’s ears struggled to register any sound whatsoever). Just click on the links under Canoe Trip Details to the left and above.

Thanks again, and please forward this second (and final) email along to anyone and everyone…..

rich pagen

September 11, 2007  

I'm leaving Minneapolis early in the morning, and should be on the water by mid-afternoon on the 12th.  Thanks for your support.  I'll be in touch when I get back (in two weeks or so), with update, photos, stories, etc.

September 3, 2007

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.

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. If you are interested in sponsoring me and supporting this cause, click HERE or on the "FIRST GIVING Sponsor Me!" badge located above.  Also, please keep visiting:

www.richpagen.com/site/cancer_canoe.html

for updates on fundraising progress, new 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