8/14/10 Pinckney, MI – Hell Survivors Paintball Field. Despite a humid midwestern summer day, >150 people came out to support the 2nd Annual Tumors Suck Paintball Benefit.  The inagural event, the first of it’s kind last year, was cursed by severe thunderstorms but it was energized by the enthusiasm and dedication of Team FUBAR.  This year there were no thunderstorms, and the expectations were raised with a year of experience in planning the event.  The 2010 event was highlighted by a few new wrinkles,  a logo was created specifically for the event by Enuf Marketing and Design, a bounce house for kids was introduced, and many new faces participated in the event.  A lot of newbie paintballers got their first taste of paintball play and Team FUBAR once again put on their “mentoring mask” for all the new players.  This year there were more female players, and the enthusiasm for the event increased by at least 10 fold!  The event t-shirt featured the slogan “this ain’t no pity party” that expressed the sentiment underlying the purpose of playing paintball as a benefit for cancer and brain tumor advocacy.

Mel Majoros is one talented mAss Kicker! She is a 10-year veteran of the television post production industry working on such shows as Walker, Texas Ranger, and Crossing Jordan.  In addition to her duties as host of The Cancer Warrior on Empower radio she is also the producer/co-host of The Vic McCarty Show on 1270am 92-1fm WMKT the talk station in Petoskey/Traverse City Michigan.  She is heavily involved in cancer advocacy including Relay for Life, Bike4Breast Cancer among others.  She is on the board of directors for Cruising for the Cure,a charitable organization benefitting the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit for pancreatic research.  Her blog the cancer warrior was named one of the top ten breast cancer blogs.

Ethnic minorities on the bone marrow registry are alarmingly low.  Non-blood-relative bone marrow matches for minorities are therefore very difficult to find.  There is a large genetic component based on racial similarities in determining a life saving match!  People of African descent, Asian descent, Pacific Islander descent, Hispanic descent, Middle Eastern descent, Native North/Central/South American descent, or people of racially-mixed decent have a very difficult time finding a match. Joining a registry could save a life.  A simple blood test or cheek swab puts you on the registry.  They will contact you if a match is found.  This is the last chance for many desperate marror recipients despite horrible odds.  Jeremy Fisicaro was one of the rare matches.  He graciously shares his experiences as a minority bone marrow donor.

By now, you’ve probably seen the meager statistics of clinical trial participation among cancer patients: less than 5% of cancer patients have participated in a clinical trial (NCI); 85% of cancer patients are unaware that clinical trials are even an option (Harris Interactive). A recent New York Times article by Gina Kolata, “Forty Years’ War – Lack of Study Volunteers Hobbles Cancer Fight,” (Aug. 3, 2009) further highlights the ongoing crisis in low patient participation in cancer clinical trials.