Young Cancer Patients Walk To Stomp Out Sarcoma

More than 75 patients, family members, friends and members of CHAM's Pediatric Sarcoma Team came together for the hospital's 2010 Stomp out Sarcoma event at Van Cortlandt Park. The patients raised more than $1,500 for sarcoma research.

Taking laps around the quarter-mile running track at Van Cortlandt Park, kids treated for sarcoma at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) lent their support to a worldwide initiative last weekend to raise money for much-needed research into their disease.

The event, "Stomp out Sarcoma", was held in conjunction with the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people dealing with sarcoma, a cancer of the connective tissues such as nerves, bones and muscles. Sarcomas are frequently hidden deep in the limbs and account for 15-20 percent of childhood cancer diagnoses and about 1 percent of adult cancer diagnoses. Many sarcomas resist current treatments, so continued research is crucial.

Undaunted by their illness, and with several on crutches and in wheelchairs, the CHAM patients were joined by their families, friends, and the doctors and nurses who treat them at the event, one of 90 Stomp out Sarcoma walks involving approximately 20,000 individuals worldwide.

"This was an outstanding and very successful event. Stomp out Sarcoma is a tremendous opportunity for the community of individuals afflicted by sarcoma and their care providers to come together to raise awareness about this rare category of cancers," said Richard Gorlick, MD, Chief, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, CHAM. "Together with other centers, unified through the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, progress can be made in the research and treatment of these illnesses."

Richard Gorlick, MD, Chief, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at CHAM (left) walks around the track with Bruce Shriver, PhD, co-founder of the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative.

"This is a very important event that is growing every year," said David S. Geller, MD, orthopaedic oncologist and member of the multi-disciplinary Pediatric Sarcoma Team at CHAM. "All over the world, people are getting together like us, to raise money and awareness."

Funds raised through Stomp out Sarcoma walks have been used to sponsor 28 sarcoma research grants in the past 7 years, according to Beverly Shriver, who with her husband Bruce founded the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative to honor their daughter, who lost her battle against sarcoma. The Shrivers attended last weekend's CHAM-sponsored event, which raised more than $1,500 for their organization.