Honoree Story

I received this letter from a friend of a friend. Mercedes and her family have been through a tough road and she graciously shared her story with me and she has agreed to let me share it with you. I will be riding in honor of her family and what they have gone through.


Hi Susan, 6/7/2009

I'm a friend of Cheryl's and wanted to share my story. My brother did this bike event after my father passed away. We watched chronic lymphocytic leukemia slowly destroy his life over 15 years, but we were lucky, he was given 5 years upon diagnosis. Then a new experimental treatment was developed right here in Silicon Valley. The doctors were able to cure dad's leukemia with that new monoclonal treatment, but they never got a handle on the lymphoma. What they did learn through his treatment was that he either had 2 diseases, or the treatment split the disease. (They thought lymphocytic leukemia was one disease and were mystified when the lymphoma remained after the leukemia was cured). This is an area of medicine where they're actually making headway, so our $$ are working! Every year that a patient manages to survive they have a chance at a lifesaving medical breakthrough. Hats off to you for doing this!

Mercedes