WEST HARTFORD RESIDENTS BIKE
COAST TO COAST FOR A CURE
PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT LEA’S FOUNDATION FOR LEUKEMIA RESEARCH
Siblings Lindsay and Michael Brown are two of six Connecticut students dedicating their summer to raising money and awareness for research on leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma.
Through Coast To Coast for a Cure, the students will bike across the United States in an effort to raise $50,000 for the leukemia/lymphoma research at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington and Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research.
Lindsay Brown is one of four students from UConn School of Medicine in Farmington, CT participating in Coast to Coast ‘07. She will be joined by classmates Nikki Goulet, Cheyenne Beach and Jared Spilka. The team also includes her brother, Michael Brown, a Bentley College student and Joshua Weinshank, a law student at Western New England College.
Although Canadian by birth, Lindsay Brown has lived in West Hartford since 1994 and graduated from Dartmouth College in 2005 with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Lindsay worked as a research assistant in an oncology lab while in college and is eager to continue her dedication to improving cancer treatments by participating in the 2nd annual Coast-to-Coast Ride for a Cure.
Michael Brown is currently a 3rd year undergraduate student at Bentley College in Massachusetts. He recently returned from studying in Australia and is very excited by the opportunity to take part in an effort to improve the medical understanding and treatment of Leukemia. Michael is an avid participant and player on numerous sports teams and loves a physical challenge.
The team is inspired by Weinshank’s mother Debi, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1998. Thanks to her strong support network and state of the art stem cell treatments, she was able to overcome her battle with cancer and is now a proud eight year survivor.
The team will begin their journey by dipping their wheels in the San Francisco Bay on June 10, 2007. Their two month cross country trek will culminate on August 12, 2007. All are welcome to join the team on their last miles, biking from the UConn Health Center in Farmington, CT to Mystic, CT to dip their wheels on the east coast to complete the journey.
This is the second cross country trip for Coast to Coast for a Cure. Last summer, University of Connecticut medical students Jeremiah Tracy and Benjamin Ristau made the inaugural ride which they dedicated to the memory of Jeremiah’s mother Elizabeth Herman Tracy. Elizabeth was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia known as Chromic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Although she was expected to make a full recovery, Elizabeth did not respond well to treatment and suffered many secondary illnesses. On May 20, 1999, Elizabeth passed away.
Leukemia is a disease of the blood-forming organs, characterized by the proliferation of immature white cells causing a depletion of red cells and platelets. There is no known cure for leukemia and its related cancers of lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Disease and multiple myeloma.
About Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research
Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research is a Hartford-based nonprofit organization established to fund research projects that will help to find a cure or control for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and myeloma. It was formed in 1998 to honor the memory of Lea Michele Economos, who at the age of 28, fell victim to leukemia. It was her dying wish that others not face the hardships that she encountered. Lea’s Foundation is dedicated to this wish, and works to increase awareness and support research that promised to curtail the suffering of those with leukemia and related blood diseases.
In 2006, Lea’s Foundation committed $1,250,000 to establish a new “state of the art” UConn Health Center treatment facility for patients suffering from malignant-leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myeloma and non-malignant, sickle cell anemia, Cooley’s anemia, and hemophilia, diseases. Once completed, it will be known as Lea’s Foundation Center for Hematological Disorders.
For more information about Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research, please visit www.leasfoundation.org
About Coast-To-Coast for a Cure
Sponsorship opportunities and trip progress can be found at
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