New fight against cancer charity raffle!

[buddhadas]

Dave, As you know my father passed away 2 years ago, a very difficult time to say the least. My cousin Tom who I grew up with sent me a beautiful card and in it said to me: "Your Father was a wonderful and caring man, it is now your charge to carry on the family name in his honor" By the looks of things, and being fortunate enough to get to know you a bit over these last 2 years Dave, I say the same to you. I am truly sorry for your loss, and as I always say, whenever you need, please call or email me.

Peace,

Jim

[ebh]

Dave, it was so difficult reading that story, but thank you for sharing. Cancer is a disease that has also ravaged my family. I am impressed by your resilience and dedication to making a difference.

[ThomasC]

My deepest condolences, Dave.

[soundfreak38]

Dave, to be honest after reading this, I just broke out in tears. The reason-my Mom is enduring the same exact thing as your dad did. However, her cancer is in her lungs. She underwent surgery to remove the mass, but to no avail as it was too large. Since then, my Mom has undergone radiation treatments as well as chemo. Both of which, have just about killed her. In fact, my Mom had to stop the chemo because of her white blood count being so low. Dave, it really kills me when my Mom tells me she is in so much pain, yet I am more or less powerless to do anything about it. Like your Dad, my Mom has a strong will to live. But, her strength is fading and I think she has given up. To my surprise, my Mom is smoking again. BTW, my Mom is 68 years-old and we are the same age Dave.

I just received my 170's today! Looking forward to getting them up and running so to speak. I commend you for raising money for this terrible disease. We all are affected by it in one way or another. Sadly, my older sister had throat cancer and my older brother had colon cancer. Both are in remission right now. I hope and pray it does not come back. Soon, I am getting a colon scope done myself. Anyways, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family Dave. God bless all of you as I know your family is very proud of what you are doing. Kudos to you Dave!

Cheers,

Phil

[merrymaid520]

Dave,

That was a tough thing to read. I admire your spirits and ability to talk so openly about this terrible disease and how it has effected your loved ones. Your father sounds like he had a very enjoyable and prosperous life! Let you continue his tradition!

I will work something out for my business to make a contribution for the raffle in memory of your father and to fight this terrible disease we all encounter one way or another.

Best wishes during the Holiday season!

Brandon

[richjwong]

Dear Friends,

I am a physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who had the great privilege to participate in the care of David Fabrikant’s father, Mr. Michael Fabrikant, in his brave battle against oral cancer. Michael lost that battle in November of 2008 with his loving and endlessly supportive wife and family at his side. Reading David’s poignant account of his father’s and family’s experience, posted here on 12/17/08, will give you an idea of the devastating toll that this disease takes on our loved ones.

David has taken a remarkable initiative by raising funds to support research for oral cancer. As one of the potential recipients of research funding raised by the Ascend Acoustics Community for this important cause, I would like to take a moment to briefly describe our work. My laboratory at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center studies how genetically engineered viruses may be applied as a therapy for oral cancer and other cancers as well. We are currently examining a variety of engineered viruses including herpes simplex type 1, vaccinia virus, and Newcastle disease virus. We have found that these viruses have an ability to selectively infect, replicate within, and destroy cancer cell targets while preserving normal tissues in animal tumor models. Our research investigating the mechanisms underlying how this occurs may potentially lead to even more effective therapies than might someday be applied for our patients. Our work has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Head and Neck Society. Every bit of support is essential towards making progress. David’s laudable efforts in raising more support through Ascend Acoustics will help, in the future, to bring these novel agents to clinical application in our patients suffering with oral cancer.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Richard Wong, MD
Head and Neck Service
Department of Surgery
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

[mziegler]

Thank you, Dr. Wong, for posting.