In this issue
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VOICES photo and video contest!
Enter and win great prizes with your memorable Relay For Life photos and videos

Daffodil Days volunteer gives hope to the newly diagnosed
Cathy Kapala, a colon cancer survivor and longtime Daffodil Days volunteer from Saginaw Township, Michigan, finds that giving back to others is the key to a positive outlook on life.

The Colossal Colon® in Detroit
Detroit residents will have a unique opportunity to learn how to protect themselves from colon cancer thanks to CoCo.

Meet your ACS Research Grantee: Dr. Marie Swanson
Dr. Marie Swanson at Indiana University uses her research grant to provide for others.

NCAA president diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
Myles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association was diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Eve, 2008.

Federal Advocacy in 2009: Potentially promising in future of cancer
Brad Burk, Great Lakes Division Director of Government Relations talks about how 2009 has the potential to be a historic year in the fight against cancer

Colorectal Cancer Quiz
Do you know what your colorectal cancer risks are, or what preventative measures to take?
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Our very own GLD YouTube channel!
Showcase the best of your GLD Relay events on YouTube!

Powerful Choices podcast
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld talks about the decrease in cancer incidence and mortality rates, and analyses the new research for us to understand its impact.

VOICES in the kitchen
On the menu: Zucchini bites

GLO Grads
Corinne Petras
ACS Communications Specialist
Detroit Metro Office

NCAA president diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
On Christmas Eve 2008, Myles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Association of America (NCAA) was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer. Confirmation that the illness had reached the fourth and final stage, metastasizing and making surgical removal impossible, came just hours into the new year.

 “I was very upset, to say the least,” Myles said, speaking publicly about his illness for the first time. “[My wife] Peg and I were looking forward to another 20, maybe 25, years of a good marriage. And so that’s a real shocker.”

In an 80-minute interview with USA Today in a conference room next to his fourth-floor Indianapolis office, Myles candidly addressed his rearranged future. Visibly thinner, he said chemotherapy treatments every two weeks leave him fatigued.

After logging up to 150 days a year on the road, he’s now unable to fly. But the NCAA’s signature event, its Division I men’s basketball Final Four, will be staged in Detroit, and he plans to be there.

Myles also said he’ll stay on the job,  “as long as I’m able to contribute in a full-blown way, [and] as long as I’m able to add some value to the position and help the NCAA stay on course.”

Myles’s doctors at the Indiana University’s Simon Cancer Center have not given him a medical timetable. “I asked that question, as anyone would,” Myles said. “The long-term prognosis is very clear. Once one reaches Stage 4, no one survives, to speak of, more than five years. It just doesn’t happen. Or so rarely it doesn’t count.

“It depends upon your individual biology. It could be short. It could be long. Some people said to me, ‘How come you’re not more angry?”
”I’m not angry at anybody. This is biologically determined. It’s not even clear what role your genetic makeup plays in it. These things happen. It’s really bad luck — or as my physician put it, ‘It sucks.’ ”

He has signed up for aggressive treatment and plans to fight the cancer as hard as he can.

NCAA President, Myles Brand

Myles Brand with wife, Peg