Blog
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Canary Challenge Team Highlight: Canary Peeps
July 23, 2014
By: Shannon Boselli, Canary Foundation Intern
As we begin to highlight outstanding Canary Challenge riders on our blog, we instantly knew a post would have to be about Hilary Valentine, our founder Don Listwin’s wife. Hilary has been with the Canary Foundation from its start, acting as a lead participant in the Challenge and a lead motivator in Don’s pursuit of cancer early detection. In addition to both of those roles, Hilary leads the Canary Peeps team—a group of riders/runners/walkers that include Hilary and Don’s friends and their kids. The team has members doing each route of the Challenge according to their ability, although most moms and kids do the 5k. Last year the Canary Peeps team boasted 43 members and raised over $78,000. This year Hilary believes they will double in both size and fundraising efforts.
The Canary Peeps fundraise in a unique way that affords them much success. Each member sends out witty, clever emails asking for sponsorship. Hilary’s friend Kristi sent out an email titled “Will You Support me on September 27th?” In it she described what the Canary Foundation does, what she has done for the Foundation, and what her goals are for her bike ride this year. Last year Kristi raised $5,000 and was one of the top 15 fundraisers at the Challenge. This year, she has provided incentives to her friends and family to donate to her cause. They are:
- “If I hit my goal I will contribute $1,000.
- The top donor will receive a digital copy of Kostas (her husband) in his 2014 Burning Man outfit.
- If I exceed my goal I will wear Kostas’ Burning Man 2014 outfit during the Canary Challenge ride. (see photo)”
Creative fundraising ideas like sending out fun emails and offering friends and family incentives to donate make fundraising both easy and enjoyable. The Canary Peeps team also asks each member to ask 3-5 new people to join the team or donate to their team. Both techniques have made the Canary Peeps team extremely successful and a great presence at the Canary Challenge village.
The Canary Peeps have also have lots of fun at the Canary Challenge. The kid’s favorite part of the event is the bouncy castle, slide, face painting, and sugar shack (hint: bring your family!) Hilary and her friends’ favorite part is the team camaraderie. Hilary said, “We come together, support and encourage each other. Team tee shirts are designed by one of our own. The team slogan is “Cruisin’ with my Peeps.” We have a team tent that creates team unity and a great place to hang out. We have a team cocktail but I am not sure you can mention that!”
The Canary Peeps motto is “we have no shame,” and they definitely live out that motto and have found great success at the Challenge sans shame. Our team at the Foundation wants to thank Hilary and her team for all of their hard work and generous contributions to the Canary Foundation’s cause. With supporters like these our efforts to detect cancer early through a simple blood test and imaging will be hopefully be rewarded soon.
Featured Rider: Joan Deitchman and Race Across America
July 1, 2014
By: Shannon Boselli, Canary Foundation Intern
Joan Deitchman, a Senior Software Engineer at Netflix, has raised over $6,000 for the Canary Center at Stanford through her 3,000-mile bicycle race called Race Across America. The race is done around the clock for almost 13 days and spans from California to Maryland. Only about 30 women and 300 men have completed the solo ride even though the race is in its 33rd year. Joan is riding in RAAM for the second time. 
Even though RAAM has no fundraising component, Joan has made a personal pledge to raise money for the Canary Center. She has already surpassed her goal of $5,000 and accredits the efforts to her family, friends, and fans. She heard about the Canary Foundation from cycling in the Silicon Valley and through the Vanderkittens, a pro cycling team. She believes that finding a simple blood test to detect cancer before it spreads to other organs is a great investment for future prevention.
To fundraise for RAAM Joan asks for donors to sponsor one of the 52 time stations where she stops. There she can recognize the donors on Social Media with photos at each station. This allows donors to be involved in the event even if they aren’t physically present, and allows them to see how far Joan rides. Each sponsored time station helps remind her about all of the support she has received and pushes her to make it through the grueling 3,000 miles.
Joan recommends being persistent in fundraising for the Canary Challenge. Finding ways to engage donors and get them excited for the upcoming event allows them to feel more connected to your fundraising efforts. She advises sending out emails, advertising on Social Media accounts, or making your own fundraising page. That way donors can see the great work you’ve put in for the cause.
Thank you Joan for your amazing efforts. Your drive will surely inspire many other Canary riders to keep lofty goals and race hard in September!
Check out Joan’s website here.
Check out Joan’s Canary fundraising page here
Canary Challenge Partners with Beeline Bikes Mobile Repair Service
June 25, 2014
Beeline Bikes, a mobile bicycle repair, has become the official mechanical support for the Canary Challenge. Beeline Bikes will provide the mechanical support in the Canary Challenge Village and will have mechanics at the Pulgas Water Temple rest stop on Canada Road. 
Beeline Bikes, a mobile repair business out of San Carlos, operates several trucks, which contain a full bike shop inside. Beeline Bikes is offering a special introductory rate for Canary Challenge riders.
- Canary Challenge riders can use code “Canary2014” and get $10 off a Full Tune-up (normally $79.99, plus parts.)
- If you have more than one bike for service, you can get the $67.99 multi-bike price, plus $10 off.
Beeline Bike’s business model is simple: Bring the bike shop to the customer and take pride in servicing any and all bikes. Beeline Bikes Technicians are employee owners and are among the best bicycle mechanics around. Beeline Bikes maintains bicycles for individuals, neighborhoods, and corporations.For more information on Beeline Bikes, please visit www.BeelineBikes.com
The Canary Prostate Cancer Team Wins Department of Defense (DoD) Prostate Cancer Research Program’s Biomarker Development Award
April 30, 2014
Daniel Lin, M.D.
The Canary Prostate Cancer team, under the leadership of Dr. Dan Lin (University of Washington) and Dr. Jesse McKenney (Cleveland Clinic), received notice that they are the winning team for the Department of Defense (DoD) Prostate Cancer Research Program’s Biomarker Development Award. The award requested $2.5M over a 3-year period, to begin later this year. Competition for the award was intense, culminating in a panel interview of finalists in Washington, DC, with only one winning team selected.
The Canary team’s Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS) was a critical resource for this award. PASS is a multi-center clinical trial that has enrolled over 1,000 men with early-stage prostate cancer who elect to have their cancer actively monitored, donating specimens as they are being followed for 5 years. PASS is addressing the overtreament problem in prostate cancer, in which the majority of men with low-risk prostate cancer receive treatment with associated side-effects, even when their cancer would not have been life-threatening if left untreated. PASS is aiding in developing the tools to tell the difference between aggressive and indolent (not aggressive) prostate cancer to guide treatment decisions.
The overall goal of the DoD grant is to validate biomarker panels for the prediction of prostate cancer aggressiveness and bring the biomarkers into clinical use in the near term. This will give patients and physicians better decision making tools which should reduce overtreatment and identify men who may benefit from early treatment. The grant will allow the Canary team to do independent research as part of collaborations with the companies that are developing the biomarkers and to integrate the results. The collaborating companies are Genomic Health Inc., OPKO Diagnostics, and Gen-Probe/Hologic.
Registration Open for Canary Challenge 2014 in Honor of World Cancer Day
February 4, 2014
In honor of World Cancer Day, we are officially opening registration for the Canary Challenge 2014. Register for the ride now for $25 until March 31.
World Cancer Day is a chance to raise our collective voices in the name of improving general knowledge around cancer and dismissing misconceptions about the disease. For Canary, we’re emphasizing the need for more cancer early detection research, awareness, and advocacy. A great way to get involved is by participating in the Canary Challenge 2014.
This amazing one-day cycling event is about to get bigger and better than ever. The event will be hosted at HP’s campus in Palo Alto on Hanover St. We’re aiming high this year with a goal of raising $1.5 million, recruiting 150 teams and over 1,500 riders. This year’s ride will benefit the Canary Center at Stanford, supporting the researchers, scientists and doctors who are dedicated to cancer early detection. Register now and be part of the pioneering edge of cancer early detection research!
Vardy’s Jewelers Celebrates 30 Years
October 28, 2011
Please join us in congratulating Vardy’s, a good friend of Canary Foundation for many years now, as they celebrate their 30th anniversary! They have a beautiful shop in Cupertino not far from 280 and also offer online consulting and purchasing. Vardy’s creates one-of –a- kind pieces and carries some of the finest jewelry available. They can turn your cherished heirloom that is safely stored away into a stunning modern piece you can wear today. Follow the link for information on their upcoming events.
http://www.vardysjewelers.com/rsvp/invite.phpx
Canary Researchers identify a recurrent fusion transcript that could provide a molecular marker for detection of ovarian cancer.
October 15, 2011
Most ovarian cancer deaths are caused by tumors of the serous histological type, which is rarely diagnosed before it has spread. By deep paired-end sequencing of mRNA from serous ovarian cancers, followed by deep sequencing of the corresponding genomic region, Drs. Brad Nelson, Charles Drescher, Patrick Brown, and others identified a recurrent fusion transcript.
