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Principal rides for a cure for Aplastic Anemia
By Chris Helms/ Chronicle Staff
August 4, 2005 - Each Red Sox home game, the faithful ritually belt out "Sweet Caroline." When Haggerty School Principal Joe Petner finds himself in the Fenway Park stands during a rendition of the Neil Diamond chestnut, he dials his younger daughter, Caroline, and holds up the cell phone for the crowd to serenade her.
But Saturday was no ordinary night at the park for the longtime principal. Before the Sox took the field to take on the Minnesota Twins, Petner pedaled around the warning track as one of 26 cancer survivors and participants in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike-a-thon.
"It was a little overwhelming," said Petner. "It was a real thrill. To be on the field at Fenway is one of those somewhat surreal experiences."
Petner, principal at the Haggerty for 16 years, admits to being a converted fan of the Philadelphia Phillies. He began his conversion to the Red Sox Nation when he started working for the city of Cambridge in 1974.
Saturday marked a milestone in any fan's life: Petner not only met Red Sox President Larry Lucchino, but tried on Lucchino's World Series championship ring.
Organizers of the PMC picked Petner from among this year's nearly 4,000 cyclists for the honor of a circuit around the revered park. Since the fund-raising bike-a-thon began in 1980, it has generated more than $122 million to research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
This weekend, cyclists are expected to log between 89 and 192 miles through towns from Sturbridge and Wellesley to Bourne and Provincetown.
Petner became involved in the ride 10 years ago through the influence of former Tobin School Principal Don Watson.
Petner and his family have a personal stake in the fight against cancer. As a young girl, Caroline Petner, now 27, needed a bone marrow transplant from her older sister, Allison, to ward off aplastic anemia.
Petner beat prostate cancer three years ago, and his wife, Jody, was diagnosed with breast cancer recently but is fine now, Petner said.
The entire family either volunteers for the bike ride or does the ride itself, Petner said.
To support Haggerty School Principal Joe Petner's ride in this weekend's Pan Massachusetts Challenge, send checks made out to "PMC" to Petner at his home, 30 Taft Ave., Lexington, MA 02421. Proceeds support the Jimmy Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. For more information, see www.pmc.org.
Contact Chris Helms at chelms@cnc.com.
President Approves Cord Blood Registry Bill
Promising Therapy for Bone Marrow Disease
The President yesterday signed into law a bill to authorize $79 million to establish a new national registry of 150,000 umbilical cord blood units. The "Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act" was approved by the Senate on December 16 and had already passed the House of Representatives last May.
"Cord blood stem cell therapy holds great promise for bone marrow disease patients," explained Marilyn Baker, the Executive Director of the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation (AA&MDSIF). "This therapy has already being used to treat more than 67 diseases, including Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). This new infusion of federal funds will make cord blood units available to more patients, and jumpstart research on the use of this source of stem cells for many debilitating diseases."
Umbilical cords are a rich, non-controversial source of stem cells. Currently hospitals throw millions of them away each year because the infrastructure required to properly collect and store them is not available. This new law will increase the number of cord blood units and cord blood stem cells available for treating patients and expanding research. It also reauthorizes the national bone marrow transplant system at $186 million over the next 5 years and combines both systems – cord blood and bone marrow – under a new program to provide an easy, single access point for information for doctors and patients.
The national program also would promote adult stem cell research by requiring participating cord blood banks to donate units that are not suitable for transplant to researchers who are working on new applications for cord blood stem cells.
"I applaud the leadership of the bill's sponsors in the House and Senate, including Congressman Chris Smith (NJ), Senator Orrin Hatch (UT), and Senator Chris Dodd (CT)," stated Baker. "Passage of this bill would also not have been possible without the stewardship of Representative Bill Young (FL), a champion of the national marrow donor registry and cord blood stem cell research." Each year, approximately 20,000 to 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with bone marrow failure diseases, specifically Aplastic Anemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), and Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH). The AA&MDSIF is the world's oldest and largest patient advocacy and support organization for families suffering from bone marrow diseases. AA&MDSIF provides updated medical information, connects patients with the latest clinical trials, educates patients and family members about treatment options, provides emotional support, and links patients to other patients.
Aplastic Anemia & MDS International, Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization as described under the Internal Revenue Code, Section 501(c)(3).
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