1.
Dear
Friends,
I
am
excited
to
share
with
you
that
I
have
been
given
the
once
in
a
lifetime
opportunity
to
help
more
than
one
million
Americans
living
with
blood
cancers.
Each
year,
The
Leukemia
&
Lymphoma
Society
(LLS)
launches
its
Man
&
Woman
of
the
Year
fundraising
campaign
and
this
year
I
was
asked
to
join
the
fight
as
a
2015
Woman
of
the
Year
Candidate
in
Philadelphia.
Over
the
course
of
a
10-­‐week
period,
my
co-­‐candidates
and
I
have
been
(and
will
continue
to)
pounding
the
proverbial
pavement
in
an
effort
to
raise
as
much
money
as
possible
to
help
find
a
cure
for
cancer.
Why
run
and
try
to
raise
money
for
LLS?
Last
year,
I
received
the
dreaded
“we
need
to
talk,”
phone
call
from
my
beloved
Dad.
He
had
just
come
down
from
New
York
to
support
me
at
my
son’s
graduation,
and
well,
in
life,
as
I
was
in
the
throes
of
a
very
challenging
life
transition.
I
figured
he
was
going
to
give
me
another
lecture
about
being
tough
and
teaching
my
kids
about
resiliency.
Instead,
he
revealed
that
he'd
just
been
diagnosed
with
chronic
lymphocytic
leukemia,
"the
best
kind
of
leukemia."
True
to
his
nature,
he
minimized
the
diagnosis
and
told
me
not
to
worry.
Like
many
other
CLL
patients,
my
dad’s
blood
tests
continue
to
fluctuate;
we
really
don’t
know,
at
nearly
80,
what
the
ultimate
outcome
will
be.
All
cancers
are
unpredictable
and
in
most
cases,
CLL
will
worsen,
just
not
at
rapid
of
a
pace
as
other
forms
of
the
disease.
Right
now,
he
is
feeling
great
and
getting
the
most
out
of
every
day.
He,
and
we,
got
lucky,
but
that
is
not
the
case
for
many
others,
including
the
154
daily
that
die
from
blood
cancers
in
the
U.S.
It
is
on
their
behalf,
and
the
1,185,053
people
living
with
or
in
remission
from
leukemia,
lymphoma
or
myeloma
that
I
ask
for
your
support
in
raising
critical
funds
for
research
and
treatment
of
LLS.
You
can
donate
easily
via
my
fundraising
page
http://www.mwoy.org/pages/epa/philly15/dwarden,
as
well
as
learn
more
about
the
diseases
and
the
organization.
I
also
welcome
information
regarding
potential
business
sponsors/matching
gifts.
Your
heartfelt
donation,
no
matter
how
small,
will
be
appreciated
by
everyone
who
has
or
may
encounter
blood
cancers,
and
most
especially,
to
those
who
have
already
lost
someone
special
to
leukemia,
lymphoma
or
myeloma.
Thank
you
in
advance
for
your
support.
We
all
have
something
we
are
fighting
for;
I
will
certainly
return
the
favor
for
your
favorite
cause.
I
have
until
June
13th
to
raise
as
much
money
I
can,
let’s
“Just
DEW
IT!”
Sincerely,
Dawn
SOMEDAY
IS
TODAY.