Prostate Cancer Symptoms Tips What is prostate cancer symptoms? We have tips about prostate cancer symptoms

In celebration of LiveSTRONG Day, Penn is highlighting the LiveSTRONG team at Penn Medicine. 

Sue Anne Clark physician liaison at Penn Medicine. An avid triathlete, she is the captain for the LiveSTRONG team at Penn Medicine. In this article, she discusses Lance Armstrong, cancer survivorship and her experience as team leader for the Team Penn Medicine/ The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia LiveSTRONG team.

This is the third year I have participated in Philly LiveSTRONG Challenge. This year, thousands of people came to support the foundation LiveSTRONG, founded by Lance Armstrong, a testicular cancer (seminoma) survivor. I was privileged to lead the 2012 Penn Medicine/ The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia team. Our team consisted of pediatricians, cancer researchers leading some of the most promising trials in cancer today, cancer survivors, families, friends, obesity battlers, and people who are there to take on the “challenge” and support survivorship. It’s such an honor to have these people on our team, and I am always inspired with their stories. Some of the programs that benefit from LiveSTRONG include programs for patients at CHOP. The Philly LiveSTRONG Center of Excellence is housed inside of the Abramson Cancer Center (UPENN).

“Pick a Fight” was the LiveSTRONG Challenge theme this year, as it was worn by more than 300 volunteers who donated their time to support many survivors and their families.

Team members can run or walk the 5k or 10k on Saturday. A teammate, who is not a cancer survivor but a survivor of another battle, obesity; started running and chose the LiveSTRONG challenge to be her first race. She lost 100 pounds in the past year with the help of the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

Another team member challenged herself to the 10k. She finished with her son and mother giving her hugs and kisses, a common scene at the finish line at the LiveSTRONG. Another teammate (survivor) looked really good at the challenge. Her sister explained to us how she was giving a short time to live when first diagnosed, and now more than four years later, she is participating in the challenge to support a foundation that has always been near and dear to her heart, LiveSTRONG.  She chimed in “it really matters where you are treated, thanks to Penn."

Don’t “Pick a Fight” with our cycling team. On Sunday the cycling team took to some of the most challenging hills of Pennsylvania. The bike challenge was to take on 10, 20, 45, 50, 75, or 100 miles of Philly's countryside.

Their stories are all inspirational:

“I am a three-time cancer survivor, I figure if I stay upright and fit- I can let Penn Medicine take care of the rest!”

“I have my check-up at the cancer center this week, and I am hoping once I tell my doctor that I just rode 45 miles with my 14-year-old son. He can tell me not to come back for another five to10 years because everything looks great.”

“Proton therapy saved my dear friend’s life, and we are so honored to be a part of this team.”
“My mom had breast cancer and my dad had prostate cancer. They were both treated at Penn and I work at CHOP. This is the team I can represent the best.”

The Abramson Cancer Center Power Stop on mile 10 or mile 88 (on the way back), was sort of a homecoming for the team. Colleagues, friends, and family volunteers were there to support the riders along the route. They offered Reiki massages, food, medical assistance, bike mechanics, personal cheerleaders, and a DJ spinning the tunes! It was their support that kept the riders going to complete the challenge!

Lance Armstrong’s Visit to Penn Medicine

In 2010,  Lance Armstrong visited Penn Medicine to take a tour and meet some of the patients. I had always been indifferent regarding Mr. Armstrong but curious and was happy to take part of the visit.  I saw him in the moment of connecting with other cancer survivors. I was fascinated with his emotional intelligence, more so than his athletic feats.

I believe Lance Armstrong has helped change the way people look at someone with a cancer diagnosis and he has made a “huge difference in the lives of millions of cancer patients.”

I am a committed supporter of LiveSTRONG and its mission. I am consistently inspired by the courage of my LiveSTRONG teammates and I am really looking forward to seeing them again at the 2013 LiveSTRONG Philly Challenge and we invite you to join our 2013 team!

Watch Lance Armstrong’s visit to Penn Medicine in 2010 and see how he interacts with patients at Penn Medicine.

Check out photos from the LiveSTRONG Philly challenge. 

Join the second annual Penn Club of New York Spinathon Wednesday, April 18 from 7 am to 7 pm in support of the Abramson Cancer Center and its patients and families. This year, there will be two Spinning locations available.

This fun and healthy event benefits the LIVESTRONG™ Survivorship Center of Excellence at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center. The goal is to have at least one Spin bike going the entire day in support of the cancer center, and those affected by cancer.

All are welcome – you do not need to be a Penn Club member to participate. The Penn Club of NY will also have silent auction items to bid on including a LIVESTRONG™ Trek Bike and Penn Medicine LIVESTRONG™ Challenge jerseys.

To reserve your time block (in 30 minute blocks) contact:

• Penn Club Fitness Center - 212.403.6623 or email at healthclub@pennclubny.org
• PedalNYC - 212.561.5435 or email Ride@PedalNYC.com

For more information, visit http://www.pennclub.org/spinathon

Make a gift online (gifts should be made in honor of Penn Club Spin-a-thon), or mail in a gift using this form.

Cassandra Hogue (left) with her sister, Caroline at LIVESTRONG event.

“This was never supposed to happen to her, I remember thinking, outraged, as if she and I had been given some kind of special exemption from sickness and suffering.”

Joan Didion wrote those words in her recent memoir, Blue Nights, about her 38-year-old daughter who was seriously ill. Those, too, were my thoughts when my 58-year-old healthy sister was diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer that was particularly difficult to treat.  

“How can this be happening to her? How can this be happening to me? I cannot bear to lose my sister.” 

I am certain every family member of a cancer survivor has had similar thoughts. For me, shock and fear predominated my emotions for three months after her diagnosis.

“How could her doctors have missed this? Why didn’t they find this sooner?”

For six months she had not been feeling well and was losing weight. I was outraged, disappointed, frightened. I didn’t voice this to my sister, but she knew how I felt, and I knew how she felt. 

I tried to stay positive and stay focused on the tasks at hand. I began organizing her medical care. I made her appointments at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center, where doctors thankfully saw her within two weeks. We waited for PET scan results to determine if the cancer had metastasized.

The next month was the seemingly endless round of medical tests, procedures, surgeries to insert a chemotherapy port and feeding tube and radiation therapy appointments. I did inordinate amounts of research to educate myself about the disease, the statistics, treatments, mortality rates, alternative therapies. I went to support groups and read up on caregiver roles, but I was still in shock, still expecting our special exemption from sickness and suffering. 

My sister told me one night when we were having a long honest talk. “Let’s make a pact that we can always cry together,” she said.

I cried a lot in those three months.

But then, I unexpectedly turned a corner. Maybe I just exhausted that leg of the grief cycle. Who knows?  I participated in the Philadelphia LIVESTRONG ™ Challenge Cycling event sponsored by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  More than 7,000 people participated – many of them cancer survivors, family members of cancer survivors or had lost loved ones too soon.

I talked to so many people that day.  I heard many stories, so much suffering and so much strength. My sister came to every rest stop, with a great sign: “My sister is riding for me.” She had just started chemotherapy and radiation, and was wearing sun protection, but she looked great.  

I had to just get back on the bike and finish the ride….no time for crying now. 

And no special exemptions.

More next month…

Learn more about the LIVESTRONG ™ Cancer Survivorship Center at the Abramson Cancer Center.

Join the 2012 Penn Medicine/ CHOP LIVESTRONG ™ Challenge Team.