Though you may know someone battlingthem, brain, pancreatic, ovarian, thyroid, leukemia, lymphoma and countless other cancers are still considered rare forms of the disease.
While they make up roughly 50 percent of all cancer diagnoses combined, theresearch on many of them is“drastically underfunded, often leaving patients with limited or no treatment options,” according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
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But with benefits and events such as MSK’s annual indoor Cycle for Survival, which kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday at the Equinox Bryant Park in New York, advancements in research, clinical trials and more are able to get to those who need such treatments the most.
Since starting in 2007, “Cycle for Survival has raised $136 million for rare cancer research, and funded 100-plus clinical trials and research studies,” MSK said, adding that some patients were even able to received faster treatments because of the fundraiser.
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Within six months, every dollar raised at New York’s Cycle for Survival — and its sister events around the country — will go directly to MSK’s research and studies.
To learn more about the event, check out this video — and watch for a Facebook Live on Saturday as Metro reporter Kimberly M. Aquilina participates in Cycle for Survival.