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U-M sarcoma stroll set for July 12 to raise awareness of rare cancer


WEBWIRE

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Golf games, bike rides, and knit-a-thons: There will be a variety of ways that people across the globe will be raising awareness about sarcoma, a rare cancer of the connective tissue, as part of the worldwide 2008 Team Sarcoma Initiative. At the University of Michigan, the community will participate with a walk around campus on July 12.

This is the second year that the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center will sponsor the U-M Team Sarcoma Stroll.The event will commence at 10 a.m. in the Michigan Room of the Michigan League with a short presentation given by James Geiger, M.D., U-M associate professor of surgery. At 10:30, participants will take a 1K to 5K “stroll” around central campus. Door prizes and refreshments will also be available at the family-friendly event.

Aisha Langford, community outreach manager at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, notes that this program is important because it creates an educational environment that raises awareness about a type of cancer that many people may be unfamiliar with.

“Because sarcoma is generally a childhood cancer, there is less public awareness about it. Consequently, there is not as much funding for research, advocacy, legislation and other important programs,” Langford says.

Sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues, including bones, tendons, blood vessels and muscle. Among adult cancers, sarcomas comprise around 1 percent of cancer diagnoses, but among children, sarcomas make up 15 percent to 20 percent of all cancers.

The 2008 Team Sarcoma Initiative is an internationally coordinated set of events that raise awareness and funds to support sarcoma research, clinical trials, and patient and family services. The 2008 initiative consists of the “core” Team Sarcoma Bike Tour, which will be held in Germany and Austria along the Danube River from Passau, Germany, to Vienna, Austria, during July 12-19. More than 3,400 people participated in Team Sarcoma events across the world in 2007.

To register for the U-M Team Sarcoma Stroll, please contact the U-M Cancer AnswerLine at 800-865-1125. For more information about sarcoma, go to www.mcancer.org.

U-M Team Sarcoma Stroll
When: 10 a.m. Saturday, July 12
Where: Michigan League, Michigan Room, 911 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor
What: 1K to 5K non-competitive walk



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