As many of you know, I was fortunate to receive outstanding care for throat cancer at the Lowell General Hospital Cancer Center last summer. Though the treatment was pretty rough, recent scans and exams have shown no sign of residual cancer and I am now back to my normal activities.  In fact, my recovery has gone so well that I just completed my 15th Boston Marathon on April 18th.

Karen and I want to thank my family, friends, colleagues and teammates for their support during this very challenging time. You dropped off food and gifts, sent cards and messages, picked up prescriptions, drove me to treatments, filled in for me at work, walked with me when I couldn't run and constantly offered whatever help we needed.

As thanks for all of this support and in recognition of the incredible team at the LGH Cancer Center, we have decided to donate to the Lowell General Hospital Team Walk for Cancer Care.

While there are many ways to support cancer research and care, the Team Walk really fills a unique need. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with the resources and support system that we enjoy, and many essential services are not covered by insurance.  Simply getting to treatments, getting the right foods to eat, keeping the heat on while missing work or having the all-important hand to hold or ear to hear are a challenge for many people.  It is exactly this direct-to-patient support that Team Walk provides. See About TW/Where the Money Goes for some examples.

Each and every dollar raised stays within the communities that TeamWalk serves by paying for medications, nutritional supplements, wigs and prostheses, support groups, skilled nursing visits, transportation, and supportive services to patients of all cancer types. 

We have established a goal to raise $5000 (since increased to $10,000 due to such generous support so far) and have committed to match every donation up to that amount. We hope some of you will join us in contributing to this cause.  Again, thank you for your support this past year, and we appreciate your generous support for Team Walk for Cancer Care.

Tom Kinneman & Karen Poushter