Team Sarcoma 2006
An ESUN Article
In early July, in a small village in Denmark, somewhere between 50-60 people will mount their bicycles and begin the Team Sarcoma 2006 Bike Tour, TS 2006. They are biking across some of the southern Danish islands from July 1-7th to raise public awareness of sarcoma and to raise money for sarcoma-related research. They will be accompanied by several volunteers on this journey. Some of the cyclists and volunteers are sarcoma patients, while others are caregivers, survivors, friends, or family members who have lost a loved one to sarcoma. The Danish press plans on covering the bike tour in the newspaper and on TV. This will obviously help spread the word about sarcoma in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and some parts of northern Europe. To date, people are coming to TS 2006 from Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, and the UK and from several states within the US, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Washington State.
The cyclists and volunteers in Denmark will be joined by several hundred people who, in a show of solidarity with the TS 2006 goals, are forming “virtual Team Sarcomas”in many cities worldwide to also raise awareness of sarcoma and raise funds for sarcoma research within their own country. People on virtual Team Sarcomas will bike, run, walk, or swim on one or more of the days that the cyclists on TS 2006 are biking in Denmark. So far, people are in the process of forming virtual Team Sarcomas in Hong Kong, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, and in several states within the US, including, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Washington State. If history is any guide, based on our previous experience with forming virtual Team sarcomas, most, if not all of them, will get press and TV coverage of their involvement in this internationally coordinated event, and thus increase knowledge about sarcoma in many countries, worldwide, and in the US. Some of the news and media coverage will tell the personal stories of sarcoma patients and the toll that this disease takes on families and friends. Many will tell of the lack of funding for this forgotten cancer.
This year, in an effort to reach out to other sarcoma advocacy groups, we have invited many of them to set up their own local Team Sarcomas to be an integral part of this effort. I am pleased to report that several advocacy groups are in the process of doing this. We can work together to help bring about change. I am also pleased to report that we have talked with people in several sarcoma centers about setting up a small. local Team Sarcoma of oncologists, nurses, staff, patients and caregivers and some are exploring this possibility.
There is strength in numbers. Our voices can be heard. We can help fund research that may be part of finding a cure for sarcoma. If you would either like to join us in Denmark or form a Team Sarcoma, please contact me. We welcome your participation.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you,
Bruce D. Shriver, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, ESUN
V3N2 ESUN Copyright © 2006 Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative.