On March 3rd of this year I watched my sweet, beloved friend Anne Stager Kahane slip peacefully away to the next life, surrounded by her wonderful family and myriad friends. Anne was an extraordianry being, luminous, loving, funny, smart and kind, an amazing mother to 3 beautiful daughters, a loving daughter, sister and friend and we all miss her terribly.  She died of Ovarian Cancer, aka " The Silent Killer", so named because it is virtually impossible to detect until it's deadly, when patients are Stage 3 or 4.  Anne was a miracle because when she was diagnosed, she was told she had 6 months to live and yet she survived, courageously and without complaint, almost 9 more years.  Every extra day that she could be there to see her beautiful daughters into young adulthood was a blessing to Anne and she was always grateful.  She tolerated the endless rounds of chemo, the sickness, the fear, with grace and humor and was always an infinite source of comfort for others, bringing light and laughter to everyone whose path she crossed. My friendship with Anne was a gift from God and I am a better person for knowing her.  I cannot adquately express the pain of her loss, because it is enormous and baffling.  What I can do, though, is take action to help stop this and other horrible diseases from taking more lives, from orphaning more children, devastaing more families and robbing us of more beloved friends.  

I met Dina Zaphiris and her lovely husband Todd Labrie in August, around the same time that I had decided to run my first 50 mile race, The Avalon 50 on January 10 2015.  I wanted to push myself to do something that I never thought I could do, that would challenge me physically, mentally and spiritually.  If Anne could put up with all that pain, fear and discomfort, I could run 50 miles and then maybe even 100 and raise money for Ovarian Cancer in Anne's memory.  When Dina and Todd told me about In Situ, I knew right then, that that was the way I wanted to do it.   The In Situ Foundation is a 501(c)3 that trains dogs to detect early stage cancer in humans. They have been in the forefront of research since 2003, and are well established as the leading organization in this field. The goal of In Situ is to bring an early detection screening method which is low cost, non-invasive and highly accurate, to the public, as well as publish research. In Situ uses rescue dogs whenever possible in their training programs, and has trained many rescue dogs to detect cancer with great success. In Situ has participated in federally funded, as well as privately funded studies, and is currently in collaboration with Duke University.  The In Situ dogs have been proven at 98% accurate in the early detection of human cancer in a published study. If this had been available for Anne, the outcome would have been different.  I am sure that we all have loved ones who have suffered form many different forms of cancer and we have seen what they have had to go through.  It is a cruel and devastating disease.  Please help me by giving to this exceptional cause.  If a thousand people can give $1 for everymile I run on January 10 2105, we can raise $50,000 for this remarkable charity.  I will be thinking of Anne and all those that I know and love who have suffered from cancer, with every step I take.  Their courage and tenacity will push me on when I'm tired and discouraged and feeling sorry for myself.  Please help me make every mile count for Anne, for Sammy, for Celeste, for Scott, for Vinnie, for Wendy, for Dorothy, for Peggy, for Joe, for Candy............................Thank you.