It's hard to believe I'm writing my 17th PMC fundraising letter. It feels like just yesterday, not 19 years ago, that Julie was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma - stage three brain cancer.

When we received her diagnosis, Julie’s treatment options were severely limited—just oral chemotherapy and radiation. Despite these treatments, the entire tumor couldn't be eradicated. Julie still lives with the tumor and endures the side effects of her treatments.

The journey has been incredibly challenging for Julie and us three. Many are amazed by Julie's resilience and how she has outlived all expectations, Megan, Emily, and I, are very grateful for it, but this hasn't come without significant hardships. Dr. Wen, her neuro-oncologist, remarked at a recent appointment that while the treatments saved Julie's life, they also made it incredibly difficult in many ways. Julie has suffered from hearing loss, memory loss, a minor stroke, and a second cancer.

Motivated by the limited treatment options available at the time of Julie's diagnosis, her brother Jack established the Haley Cairns Brain Tumor Research Fund. This fund supports Julie’s clinician Dr. Patrick Wen's research into more effective treatments for adult brain cancer patients. Dr. Wen, in addition to treating patients and conducting research, is the Director of the Center for Neuro-Oncology at Dana-Farber and a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

With the tremendous support from our PMC team donors like you, generous family members, and other contributors, the Haley Cairns Brain Tumor Research Fund has raised over $826,307.22 to help Dana Farber and more specifically Dr. Wen continued research. I was astonished when I heard that number. Each year I consider this might be my last fundraising letter, but how can I stop when we are so close to raising $1 million and there are still so many people to help? Julie still needs us too.

If you have donated previously, thank you for being on our team in this fight. If you haven't yet contributed, please consider joining us. Together, we can make a difference. You can visit my fundraising site to donate: https://profile.pmc.org/PC0142

Alternatively, you can send checks to the PMC at my home address:

72 Wedgewood Drive, Saco, Maine 04072

You can also support us by sharing our story.

Thank you for your support and generosity.

Peter

#braincancersucks #PMC2024

Peter