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2008 Marks 21st Annual Elephant Rock Cycling Festival
Medical Chair - Edward Arenson, MD
Community Chair - Susie Wargin, 9News Sportscaster
June 1, 2008
Join thousands of cyclists for the unofficial start to the Colorado cycling season. You won't want to miss the excitement and camaraderie of the 21st annual pilgrimage to Castle Rock for the Rocky Mountain region's premier cycling festival - the 2008 Subaru Elephant Rock, a Rocky Mountain tradition.
We are proud this year to have as our Community Chair Susie Wargin, 9News Sportscaster [view Susie's bio]. "I am very excited to be CNI's Community Chair for this year's Elephant Rock Ride. When I found out about the wonderful work they do with their patients and how they help patients' families out through the Heartstrings Program, I was sold. Signing up with the CNI team for Elephant Rock will help future families with meals, household chores and many other necessities that are not always top of mind when a loved one is going through major medical treatment."
Read Susie's interview with Elephant Rock founder Scot Harris >>
For the past few years the CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors has been a beneficiary of the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival. Again this year we have the opportunity to field a cycling team of 100 riders,.
Won't you consider joining the team in supporting this CNI Program? Be a donor, assist as a fund raiser or ride one of the many courses. With so many different courses, start times and riders of different abilities, riders will not necessarily be riding together during the day. Ride at your own pace and watch for the Team jerseys along the course. Gather at the CNI Tent afterwards and share stories.
For complete information on this year's ride, and to register, visit the Elephant Rock ride web site.
The CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors
invites you to the
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
5:30pm to 7:00pm
At the fish pond between Swedish Medical Center and
Craig Hospital.
In case of inclement weather the event will be moved inside.
Candle lighting ceremony, speakers, reflections.
Refreshments will be served after the services.
Please RSVP by May 19th to Lorre Gibson – (303) 806-7420
4th Annual Long-Term Survivor Party Honors Courage of Patients and Families and Commitment of Medical Team
October 17, 2007
By Ned Davis
More than 75 people gathered on October 17, 2007, for the fourth annual celebration of long-term survivors of high-grade brain and/or spinal tumors. All have been treated by Dr. Arenson and the rest of the Team at the CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors.
The criterion for being invited to this special evening was survival for three or more years after diagnosis of a grade 3 or higher brain tumor. Patients from across the United States were invited to attend. Many could not travel to Colorado for the festivities, but all were honored that evening. The event was held at the Glenmoor Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.
The cupcake candle-lighting ceremony has become a well-loved tradition, in which each attendee receives a cupcake with candles numbering his or her years of survival. Then, all at the same moment, they blow them out.
With the flames of light representing hope, peace and courage,
the survivors
blow out their candles.
Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors
Annual Memorial Lectureship
September 6-7, 2007
Guest speaker for the Annual Memorial Lectureship, September 6-7, 2007 was Dr. Edward Oldfield, Chief, Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
CNI staff and invited neurosurgeons from the Denver Metro area and Dr. Oldfield enjoyed a lovely dinner at Strings the evening before the lectureship.
The Friday noon lecture was attended by staff, hospital personnel, physicians and patients. They heard Dr. Oldfield speak on the topic of: Convection Enhanced Drug Delivery: Implications for Biological Neurosurgery.
The event was supported in part by a grant from Schering-Plough. Local representative for the company is Deb Nelson.
Elephant
Rock Cycling Festival2007 marked the 20th year of the Compass Bank Elephant Rock Cycling Festival held in and around Castle Rock, CO. Traditionally considered the start of the Colorado cycling season, it affords riders of all abilities the opportunity to hit the roads (pavement or dirt) and enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery and rolling hills of this area just south of Denver. As blogger Brian Phillips, so eloquently stated, “The elephant rocked”. The weather was perfect and law enforcement staff and volunteers were ready for anything.
There were rest stops and aid stations positioned throughout each of the courses and gave everyone the opportunity to take a breather if needed. Sag wagons also roamed the courses offering water and road assistance to those who might need some mechanical aid. With State Patrol, Sheriff’s and Police staff on hand it made for a safe and enjoyable event for all.
Governor Bill Ritter who gave up running a few years ago to preserve his knees, has become a cyclist and rode this years event. Afterwards he signed the “Share the Road” bill into law. Watch for the specialty license plates for cyclists.
E-Rock founder and organizer, Scot Harris, has so generously offered this event as a fund raiser for the Colorado Neurological Institute Center for Brain and Spinal Tumors. We had 71 registered riders (see the list below) this year and, with donations still coming in, it looks like we’ll raise over $20,000 again this year to support patient assistance and research at the Center.
Corporate sponsors who underwrote the expenses of the event include: Morton Publishing, Pharmion, 9 News, Dr. Ed Arenson and Steve & Arlene Marcus. The Arapahoe Sertoma Club helped by sponsoring 8 riders. An after ride breakfast at Washington Park was sponsored by Pat McKim.
Congratulations and thanks to all the riders who enjoyed a beautiful Colorado day with perfect weather and made this event a success for CNI. Thank you, too, to the numerous volunteers and staff who gave of their time and worked so tirelessly to secure the funding we need to offer services to our patients at the CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors.
I’d to extend a very special thank you to those who raised funds and those who gave so generously to help us meet our goal.
Planning for 2008 will start in the next few months. If you would like to serve on the committee, (we only meet a few times a year), please let me know. We are always grateful for new ideas and new sponsors.
Mark your calendars for June 1, 2008 for the 21st Annual Elephant Rock Cycling festival.See photos and story about the 2006 cyclists who raised $18,000 for our program!
Visit the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival website to learn more about the 20th Anniversary event.
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Disappointment matched the dark skies on the morning of the 8th Annual Reflecting the Light Services on Wednesday, May 23, 2007. For the previous 7 years we had an outdoor event that found us under beautiful Colorado skies in the fish pond area of Swedish Medical Center. This year would be different. The skies opened up and the rain did not lessen for several hours. It was easy to decide to move the event to an indoor venue.
I have always thought that it was the outdoor event, the music, the flowers and the candle lighting ceremony that drew patients, family and staff to this touching yearly gathering. This year I realized, you come because you want to gather together to pay honor to your loved ones and to the staff that brings you so much hope for the future and comfort for the present. More than 70 patients, family, friends and staff poured into a conference room at the hospital to hear music by Carla Sciaky and her daughter, Chloe. Dr. Arenson welcomed everyone and offered words of encouragement. Lee McDowell gave a beautiful invocation. You heard words of praise and thanks from Sean Smith. Julie Canis discussed her feelings as a caregiver. Roberta Slaughter echoed Julie’s sentiments and thanked her for her eloquent words. Stacey Per shared a reading by Courtney Davis.
We could not do the annual candle lighting, that has come to mean so much to everyone. We are not allowed to burn candles in the hospital. But that did not stop the group from coming forward to speak the name of a friend or loved one. I introduced each family member to the crowd and announced who they were honoring. It was as touching and moving as any candle lighting ceremony we have ever held. The event closed with a prayer by Erika Valenzuela from the Chaplaincy of Swedish Medical Center.
A small entourage braved the elements to view the memorial flower garden that had been blooming beautifully for several days. And with that another Reflecting the Light event came to a close.
Thank you so much to all who helped with planning and organizing and especially to those who stepped up to move the event inside the day of the event. I couldn’t have done it without your support.The following abstracts are summaries of research performed by Dr Arenson and team members. The first was presented at the 2nd Quadrennial Meeting of the World Federation of NeuroOncology (WFNO), 6th Meeting of the European Association for NeuroOncology, in Edinburgh, Scotland in May 2005. The second abstract is from a paper presented to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
There are all kinds of survivors in the world. Survivors of war and poverty. Survivors of abuse or unhappy childhoods. But on a beautiful sunny evening in September, 78 people gathered at the home of Dr. & Mrs. David Trevarthen to celebrate and rejoice with long-term survivors of high grade brain tumors. This is the 3rd Annual Long-Term Survivors Party and with each year the event becomes more popular with the patients of the CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors.
Those who are at least 3 years out from the diagnosis of a high grade brain tumor and are patients of the CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors are included. Patients from across the United States were invited to attend. Many could not make the long trip here for the festivities, but all were honored that evening.
The food was catered by the Warren Tech High School Catering Department. They do a wonderful job and this year was no exception. A coffee cart of specialty coffee and fruit drinks, provided by Lisa Wynja of the Celegene Corp., was a real treat! Sarah Trevarthen was a very gracious host and made everyone feel very welcome. Others who offered their time and expertise were: Joann Bank, Ned Davis, Melissa Francis, Lorre Gibson, Carol Greenwald, Jan Halvorsen Stacey Per, Kayla Pierick, Mary Pierick.
The candle lighting ceremony was moved outside this year and took place at dusk. It was dramatic seeing all those points of light. Always an emotional activity for the patients and their families, it is a very significant way to acknowledge the years of survival that have brought all of together.
Daily we in the medical community see advancements in the field of neuroscience. New technology and imaging equipment and safer, less toxic, chemotherapy drugs, along with advancements in radiation treatments and neurosurgery are allowing us to offer the kind of hope that all patients look for when they are diagnosed with disease. Patients are living longer and more productively than ever before. They are survivors.
A
CNI patient since being diagnosed with glioblastoma mutiforme (Grade
IV) in June 2002, H. Charles "Charlie" Wolf has recently
published his second book about his experience, "Alive and Fighting
: Coping with a Brain Tumor and a Bone Marrow Transplant." This
book discusses his second and third years, which also included a bone
marrow transplant because the chemotherapy had destroyed his bone marrow.
"Now, three years later, I still have many things to deal with on a daily basis including graft-versus-host disease from the bone marrow transplant, and reading and memory problems because a large piece of my brain was removed during my brain surgery," says Charlie. "Surviving the first year was one of the most difficult things I have ever faced, but the second and third years were even harder. I am not even close to winning my battle over cancer, but I continue to fight until the end. There were many times that I just wanted to give up, even if the result was death. It was becoming too hard to fight as I became increasingly sick with each treatment. However, I never gave up. I have family and friends that I am not ready to leave yet and things I still want to do, so I will continue to fight!"
Charlie's first book, titled "Damn The Statistics, I Have a Life to Live," details his battle against the tumor and his gratitude to the doctors and nurses at Colorado Neurological Institute and Swedish Medical Center who have treated and cared for him during this difficult period. Wolf, a 45-year-old former nuclear facility manager and father of three and grandfather of two, is now over three years beyond diagnosis. Charlie's book is available on AuthorHouse.com for $11.20.
If you have any questions about any of the activities at the CNI Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors, please call Lorre Gibson at (303) 806-7420.
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Colorado Neurological
Institute Center for Brain & Spinal Tumors
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