Dear Friends, 

On November 3, 2015 (dates mean a lot in a cancer journey) I learned from a soft spoken pulmonologist that there was a tumor the size of an iPhone sitting between my lungs and that I likely had Lymphoma. My cancer journey began that day and stretched out for over a year before I reached remission on December 22, 2016 (dates again). During those thirteen months I endured six-months of chemotherapy, a summer of radiation treatment and finally a stem-cell transplant that kept me inside UCLA medical center for several weeks over the Christmas holiday in order to finally beat back the cancer that was ravaging my body. During those months I dreamed of a day when the dark shadow that is cancer would be be a distant memory.  I wondered how I would celebrate being five-years cancer free which marks the transition from remission to cured. I imagined climbing a mountain, or an exotic destination trip surrounded by loved ones but we are still in the midst of COVID-19 so that no longer seems practical. I still want to do something to mark this moment so I am forcing myself to do something that does not come naturally to me at all. I am putting on running my shoes and attempting to run 13.1 miles in order to prove to myself that my body is strong and capable of going beyond what I believe possible. I also want to give back to the place and doctors that ultimately saved my life. If you know me you may know that I am not a runner at all so this won't be easy. I am running to raise money for the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation. JCCF funds leading-edge research. When you donate to the JCCF, your gift provides over 450 physicians and scientists the crucial funding needed to develop new methods, protocols and therapies for treating this disease. If I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma today I would not receive the same treatment I got five-years ago. That's how quickly things are changing and evolving and UCLA is helping lead the charge. 

Thank you for considering,

Bonnie