Welcome To Bob Miller's Fundraising Page.
In the spring of 2023 I was a very healthy 72 year old. I was still running races, playing USTA tennis, playing basketball, cycling and hiking. Then suddenly in June of that year I could no longer walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for air, let alone engage in any vigorous activity. I went to an urgent care center to get a blood test because i thought I must be anemic. I was. Very. I went to my doctor who after looking at the results and listening to my symptoms and feeling my abdomen, referred me immediately to a hematologist/oncologist. He took another blood sample. The next day he called to tell me I had acute myeloid leukemia or AML and to immediately go to Westchester Medical Center to be admitted. I spent 45 days that summer of 2023 in the hospital. If I had not been diagnosed with AML, I likely would have died within 1-2 months.
it is now spring of 2026 and I am a very healthy 75 year old. I am back to hitting tennis balls, shooting hoops, biking, hiking and walking. And I am soon to embark on a 150 mile bike ride with the Velo Palmetto 2026 Blood Cancer United fundraiser. How did that happen? Simply, the invention and availability of advanced breakthrough chemotherapy drugs that not only stopped the FLT3 mutated DNA from taking over my bone marrow but also has kept the mutation from reoccuring. I continue to take maintenance therapy drugs but it does not prevent me from doing anything I want to do.
The FLT3 mutation used to be a death sentence. Now it is manageable, if not curable. But there are other mutations that cause AML that still are virtual death sentences such as Inversion 3. That was the one that took Tatiana Schlossberg's life at 35 years old this past December. All of the currently available therapies could not save her. There are over 100 different kinds of blood cancer from childhood leukemias like ALL, chronic leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, etc. Some of them like ALL or CLL now are cureable or managable, but many still are not. This is where Blood Cancer United comes in.
Blood Cancer United is responsible for many of the advancements that have contributed to increased blood cancer survival rates over the years. And, many Blood Cancer United supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are now used to treat patients with other forms of cancers as well. This is why I am dedicating this fundraiser to my close friend Bruce Edleson, who passed away from pancreatic cancer 10 years ago. Bruce passed within a month of being diagnosed. I am doing this for him as he would do the same for me.
Please join me in supporting Blood Cancer United, formerly The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, by making a donation to my fundraising campaign. Thanks to your support, my efforts will help fund the development of therapies and treatments that will help save others for which there are no suitable treatments yet.
All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. Beyond research, your donation also supports critical patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services.
Please consider sharing my page with other friends and family who may also feel inspired to donate!
On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere I thank you for your support!
For more information about Blood Cancer United, please visit bloodcancerunited.org
