Support Us in the Swedish SummeRun!
Hi Everyone,
My name is Lisa Kreissler and I was a friend of Mary Anne Kobylka’s. Sadly, Mary Anne lost her battle with ovarian cancer on Tuesday, July 7, 2009. A little over a month ago, she asked me to take over as Team Captain of *Team Mary Anne!* for the Swedish SummeRun event benefiting the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research. This will be the first year in six years that she will not be leading her team. She will be greatly missed by so many people.
As many of you know, Mary Anne has battled ovarian cancer for the last six years. She was determined to thrive, to take everything in stride, and to live her life with a firm grasp of what really matters. Every obstacle was dealt with honesty, and with her great, wonderful sense of humor. Cancer did not rule her life; she made the most of every day and created wonderful memories with her family. It would have been understandable to turn inward, but Mary Anne wanted to do more.
Her motto quickly became “Celebrate Life!” And, as Mary Anne explained in her own words:
“I accept the fact that I cannot control how I die, but I can control how I live. For me, spending time with family and friends, and raising funds for cancer research is part of living well.”
Ovarian cancer is brutal. It is hard to detect, and very hard to cure - doctors say it looks like gravel thrown into the body. Mary Anne wanted to do anything she could to help fund research towards a cure. She participated in fundraising triathlons. She formed a team of runners and walkers to participate in the Swedish SummeRun, an annual event that has raised over $3 million for the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research. This organization was formed by her doctor, Dr. Saul Rivkin, who lost his wife, Marsha, to ovarian cancer. Last year, "Team Mary Anne!" was the top-fundraising team, with $47,433.00 donated to support ovarian cancer research. And as many of you know, Mary Anne was also the SummeRun Survivor Honoree last year, and you can read more about her story by following this link: http://community.swedish.org/Page.aspx?pid=280.
If you are so moved, please consider making a donation to the cause that Mary Anne devoted the last six years of her life to: The Swedish SummeRun benefiting the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research.
In Mary Anne’s words:
“This money is being put to great use by researchers selected by the Marsha Rivkin Center. These researchers are making progress in diagnosing this disease, treating it, and curing it. Lives are being saved.”
“People with recurrent ovarian cancer have new chemos available to them to prolong their lives. More kids will have moms around and some kids may never have to learn to fear the word cancer. Wouldn’t that be great?”
Indeed it would be great. Please do know that it doesn’t have to be a large donation if your budget does not allow for it … even a $10.00 donation would be so welcomed.
Mary Anne’s Swedish SummeRun goal this year was $50,000.00. And this year Mary Anne would have turned Fifty in September. Her campaign theme for this year was “Fifty would be Nifty!” Please, let’s do what we all can to have her reach her Swedish SummeRun goal.
Please go to the top right of this page and donate to one of the members of *Team Mary Anne!* in honor of MaryAnne. Also, we would love to have you walk or run with us on Sunday, July 26th at the Swedish SummeRun. Please feel free to write me at lisa@grandmasters.biz for more details.
You can join us at the Swedish SummeRun by clicking Join Us at the SummeRun. Remember to enter our team in the Team Name field. You can also help by sponsoring our team or an individual on our team. It's easy to make a gift, just click on Support Us! on the right or click on a team member's name to the far right.
Thank You!
Our Photos
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Our Progress
| Goal: | $45,595.50 |  |
| Raised: | $0.00 |
Our Team
Our Donors
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