The time is coming for the second annual Tyler’s Troops Walk for Retinoblastoma! 

Tyler John Barnett was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma on February 15, 2011 at only 2 months old. Retinoblastoma is the most common eye cancer in children. It is a life-threatening cancer of the retina within the back of the eye.  Tyler is lucky enough that the cancer did not spread outside of his eyes and he only had a pencil point size tumor in his right eye and a lima bean size tumor in his left. He went through 6 rounds of chemotherapy at CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) and has had 10 exams under anesthesia at Wills Eye Institute where he receives cryotherapy. The chemo killed the big tumor; however, he has had a lot of seeding ever since, which is Tyler’s current hurdle to overcome.

All proceeds will benefit Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund USA, The Eye Tumor Research Foundation at Wills Eye Institute and the Oncology Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We would love for all our family and friends to participate in the walk with us any way they can, whether it's walking alongside us, contributing through a monetary gift, or just simply and as importantly, sending their thoughts and prayers to Tyler.

Tyler's Troops 2nd Annual Walk for Retinoblastoma will be held on May 12, 2012 at 10:30 am at Cooper River Park Stadium in Pennsauken, NJ, which is about 10 minutes from the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia.

You can choose to follow the ¼ mile Cinder Track or add on an optional loop around the river.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to enjoy a beautiful day outside while helping to fight childhood eye cancer during World Retinoblastoma Awareness Week.

Entry and Donations

Entry is free of charge.  Please make donations payable to: Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund. 

Can Tabs

Please bring can tabs that we are collecting for Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House – a place where families can stay together while their child is receiving medical care in the city.

T-shirts

T-shirts will be available for $5 each.  Please send us your size before April 15 to enable correct ordering.

On The Day

Please dress appropriately in comfortable clothing and good walking shoes.  Remember sunscreen and a hat.
Beverages will be provided to keep everyone cool.

Eye Tumor Research Foundation

Last year our donations went solely to The Eye Tumor Research Foundation, which is directly linked to the Wills Eye Institute and Dr. Carol Shields. Through this foundation, the money we raise will go towards awareness and finding better treatments to save the sight of children with retinoblastoma.

http://etrf.org/

Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund, USA

I have begun working with the Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund on their Development and Finance Committees this past year as they begin to grow in the United States. DECF is dedicated to bringing life and sight saving care to all children with retinoblastoma, a curable cancer that kills 7,000 children around the world every year and robs hundreds of precious sight across the USA. Many young children will be spared blindness, and precious lives will be saved by increasing awareness, access to evidence based care and family support. I am very excited to be a part of DECF as it continues to grow in the US.

http://www.daisyfund.org/usa/index.html

CHOP Oncology

Additionally, we will be donating the proceeds to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, specifically the Oncology Center. This is where Tyler received his chemotherapy and where his oncologist, Dr. Ann-Marie Leahey works.

http://www.chop.edu/service/oncology/home.html

Ronald McDonald House, Philadelphia

We’ll be collecting can tabs at the walk to donate to the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House.  The Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House provides a home away from home for families of critically ill children receiving treatment at local hospitals. Many of our other RB families stay there when they come from out of town for treatment. The tabs can be from any kind of container: coffee cans, pretzel jugs, milk cartons, etc. We will collect them and turn them all in after the walk.

http://www.philarmh.org/

Note: DECF UK is receiving and holding donations for DECF USA until the official 501(c)(3) status is achieved.  This is why £ currency appears on this page.  Our goal is $15,000 (£11,380.40). We recommend www.xe.com/ucc if you wish to check conversion rates before making your donation.  Donations will automatically be converted to £ by the bank.  Credit card companies may charge a small fee for the transaction.  Some banks block online transactions when they are "out of character". If this happens, please contact your bank to allow the paymenr to proceed.

After the walk, all the donations that are collected online will be added to the total of the check and cash donations received and DECF will issue checks to ETRF and CHOP Oncology.

 

Please follow Tyler’s story at his Caring Bridge site: http://caringbridge.org/visit/tb120810 

For more information, or to send your preferred T-Shirt size, email Tylers_Troops@yahoo.com