Hi Friends & Family! We hope you will consider supporting us at the 9th Annual Swim Across America St. Louis event!

More Reasons to Support SAA

As if we needed more reasons to support SAA, last year after recommendations from multiple medical professionals due to a high prevalence of cancer in my family, I decided to take a genetic test. The results showed that I have two cancer-causing genes that make me more susceptible to certain cancers. I have always felt knowledge is power so the one change I have made is to make sure I don’t miss screenings!

TMI, but this week I have breast MRI (family history – every 6-month screenings), later this year I have my 5-year colonoscopy (family history), this summer I will schedule my annual blood work (blood issues in the family too); AND, I will continue my every 6 month visits to the dermatologist (yes – family issues plus I was a child of the 80s)!

Why Am I Telling You This

1.              To remind you to schedule your screenings! If you need to schedule your mammogram, colonoscopy, blood work, derm appt or more, do it today!

2.             We need more research! We continue to Make Waves to Fight Cancer but there is still so much to do! The advances in research are providing hope to so many families but we still can do more! Will you help us?

How You Can Support Us

You can swim, volunteer, donate, or dedicate any activity through SAA My Way to raise funds for SAA! As a family, our goal is to raise $5,000 to support cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and you are welcome to support me, Walter, Jenna or Ally. 

On event morning, you will find Walter and Jenna in the water while Ally and I will be working on the land. Since I can’t swim on event day, I still intend to participate through a "SAA My Way" event. Once again this year I will (over a weekend - not the same day) swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and walk 13.1 miles. Last year was my first year doing this and I really appreciated the time to reflect during my walk to remember WHY I was walking in 103 degree weather - to give others hope! If you need something to train for – join me for all or part of it!

The Impact of Your Participation & Donations

2024 is the 9th Annual Swim Across America St. Louis event and to date, we have raised more than $1.6 million to support cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center. Each year, we work with Siteman to identify a young scientist with promising research. We have supported  breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, stem cell transplant patients, melanoma, and lymphoma. Some of the research we have supported has focused on changing the standard of care and some grants were leveraged for additional funding, including a project we funded from Dr. David Denardo that received an additional $2.8 million for pancreatic research.  

This year, our research will support Dr. Melissa Reimers’ prostate cancer research. Like you, I am aware of many friends and family members who have had prostate cancer, including my dad.

An Update On Walter

Walter’s cancer story has been boring lately, which is a reason to celebrate! He currently has scans every 6 months but this fall marks a major milestone – 5 years since ANY cancer treatment. We are grateful to Siteman (and BVT) for giving Walter a chance to experience events we never thought he would see - graduation, prom, etc.

While we are grateful he has been "disease stable" for the past few years, we have unfortunately lost too many people we care about to cancer.  This includes a teenager who should be enjoying college, friends who are parents who left young children behind, friends who should be starting families and two good friends who Walter started his cancer journey with. This is why our family continues to Make Waves Against Cancer by raising money for Swim Across America St. Louis. 

How To Give & Thank You

Walter and I brought Swim Across America (SAA) to St. Louis because we believed in the mission and vision of the organization before he was ever diagnosed with cancer. We see now how SAA has impacted the cancer community and we are personally benefited from SAA's investment in Keytruda. Will you help me make waves in the fight against cancer? Thank you for your generosity!

You can make a credit card donation by clicking on the support me button to the right, or send a check to Swim Across America St. Louis, PO Box 490 O'Fallon IL 62269.