PATRICK KOLBS AWAKEN THE DRAGON INITIATIVE
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Event details |
Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival 2015 |
10/03/2015 08:00 AM Dragon Boat Race |
Donate to participate! |
"Marilyn Virginia May was said to be different, this ranging from her beliefs to her actions. She was a strong woman who disagreed with racism in the 1960’s, an era where racism was so common and thought to be a requirement in society. Since one of her best friends was a black artist that lived down the street by the name of Johnny Johnson, she had been going against the society that she lived in and their beliefs and common thoughts. I have every reason to believe she was a strong, independent woman that was not afraid to stray from social norms. She was my grandmother, but I was never able to meet her.
She died of breast cancer at the age of 37. She died a single mother with three young children at home – ages 7, 11, and 12. Three of her four aunts were diagnosed with breast cancer in their thirties or forties, and her sister went on to die of the disease in her early fifties.
My mother inherited her mother’s breast cancer genetic mutation. She tested positive for the breast cancer gene in January 2012. My mother is BRCA2 positive, putting her at 85% risk for 5c breast cancer and 35% risk of ovarian cancer. Breast cancer is curable if caught early; ovarian cancer is deadly and difficult to detect. My mother is a cancer researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, and so she understands her risk of the disease. She also understands her treatment options and what those options would mean to her health. She knew that her probabilities for getting cancer were near certainty. She knew that even if she found her cancer early, the treatment would most likely include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy because of her deadly family history. Chemotherapy and radiation work by destroying fast-growing cancer cells. Unfortunately with treatment, other types of fast-growing healthy cells also can be damaged along with cancer cells, causing side effects. Side effects can range from short-term flu-like symptoms and hair loss to long-term symptoms including fatigue, swelling, confusion, and memory loss. My mother believed that if she waited for her cancer to emerge, along with the anxiety she would endure, her quality of life after treatment would never be the same. So she decided to take six months from her life now and have both breasts removed, along with her ovaries, reducing her risk of breast and ovarian cancer to a level below the general population. My mom made the choice to be healthy for me, my sister, my dad, and for all of our family and friends. She believes that she was given the gift of “choosing health”.
October is breast cancer awareness month, and it is important to me because I know that I am at a higher risk for getting various cancers than the average person based on my genetic profile. My sister, aunt, uncle, and cousins are also at high risk. I plan to bring awareness to the importance of genetic testing by wearing pink, wearing and selling my pink “Awaken the Dragon” band (with donation of proceeds to the ATD organization), walking for the cause, and speaking about the importance of genetic testing whenever I can.
I hope that all of you will help me bring attention to cancer in coming years in as many ways possible. I also hope that my efforts will help in some way make people more comfortable with the discussion of genetic testing and making the choice to be healthy. "
www.awakenthedragonpa.wordpress.com
PLEASE CONTACT:
PATRICK KOLB pkolb1998@gmail.com to purchase pink arm bands in 2017 class
MICHAEL SOWERS MICHAELSOWERS2016@GMAIL.COM to purchase in 2016 class
Saturday, 20th November 2010
Categories Boy's/Men's, Club, High School, Recruiting
By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/20/10
The Duke’s Lacrosse Club swept two games and more than $4,000 was raised in the Dan Carr Benefit at Cabrini College Friday as the Philly Showcase weekend kicked off in style.
Eighty-five college coaches braved 30-degree temperatures as the Duke’s L.C., Rebel Elite and the Inter-Ac League All-Stars competed in three games. Proceeds went to help Carr, a popular Philly supporter who is fighting a brain tumor.
The Duke’s L.C., five-time winners at Champ camp and rated the No. 1 club team by Inside Lacrosse in 2009, earned victories over the Inter-Ac, 6-2, and Rebel Elite, 11-1.
Also, the Inter-Ac defeated Rebel Elite, 7-3. (See scoring summaries).
Action continues today in the weekend event as nearly 350 boys compete in the Philly Showcase at Episcopal Academy. On Sunday more than 200 girls will compete in the Girls’ Showcase at EA. Admission is free.
The event Friday served several roles: showcasing a number of uncommitted Philly boys’ players, while also supporting Carr, considered a Philly lacrosse ambassador.
During the event it was announced that Penn Charter was starting a “Score for the Cure” campaign where players raise money for the Dan Carr Fund by getting sponsors for each goal they score in 2011. Also, wristbands wil be sold for $5.\
One of Carr’s sons, Penn Charter junior Shane, played Friday for the Inter-Ac stars and plays for the Duke’s L.C. His older brother, Dan, is a starting goalie at Lehigh and also played at Penn Charter and for the Duke’s L.C.
“I’ve known Mr Carr since I was in third or fourth grade,” said Penn Charter senior Joey Sankey, who plays both for Rebel Elite and the Duke’s L.C. and has signed with North Carolina. “Mr. Carr has always been the most positive and passionate person about lacrosse and about life.
“It kills me to see what he’s been going through, but as always he’s been positive about it.
“He loves lacrosse and he’s always been at so many games and he’s always supported me and my family, and everyone he knows.”
Said Shane Carr: “It’s awesome how the lacrosse community in the area reached out to us. To see all these people here is cool. But this is also a great event. It was great looking at the sidelines and seeing so many coaches.”
To learn more about the efforts to help support the Carr family, click here to learn about the “Dan Carr Fund to Fight Brain Cancer.”
The Duke’s L.C. got three goals from Dan Kinek (Emmaus senior) and two more from Jeremy Omrod (Holy Ghost Prep junior) in its 6-2 win over the Inter-Ac stars. Goalie Victor Garcia (La Salle senior) did not allow a goal in the first half.
In their first game, the Dukes got three goals from Ryan Ambler (Abington junior) and two each from Parker Self (Central Bucks East junior) and Henry Blynn (Haverford School junior). Garcia and Tyler Morrell (Episcopal Academy junior) handled the goaltending chores.
“I was fortunate enough for (coach) Ebe (Helm) to ask me to come out and play,” said Kinek, who scored four goals and is looking for the right Division I school. “I was all pumped up.
“There were like 80 coaches; it was awesome. I was nervous at first, but once the game started I got into a groove and everybody played well. It was great exposure. It was weird playing at 9 o’clock at night, but the whole team played well.”
Garcia, who saw regular time last year for La Salle but was not the starting goalie, also is searching for a Division I home. He will play today in the Philly Showcase.
“I just wanted to get some looks,” said Garcia, who also will play in a recruiting event Sunday in Maryland. “I wanted to get out and have a good showing and get my swag back in a big-game situation under the lights.
“Overall, the defense played well, the offense was firing and the whole team played great. This helps (in getting seen); it’s even bigger because (I wasn’t a starter).”
The Inter-Ac stars rallied for the win over Rebel Elite after falling behind, 3-1, in the first half. Jake Glancy (Malvern Prep junior) scored twice for the Inter-Ac in that game and Connor Crump (Germantown Academy junior) scored once in each game.
“It was a lot of fun playing with a bunch of guys you usually play against in the season,” said Crump, who is playing today in the Showcase. “I have heard from a couple schools, and I am waiting to see how the process works out.”
Frankie Magazu (junior from Kingsway, NJ) had a goal in each game for Rebel Elite.
“I wanted to get some college looks and it was great competing with some of the best teams in Philly,” he said.
Rebel Elite featured four players from Allentown Central Catholic, a budding program that went 19-4 last year and figures to challenge for a Lehigh Valley Conference title in 2011. one of the players, senior attackman Adam Wydra, scored once. The other ACC players included senior Brian Topper (LSM) and juniors Matt Savage (MF) and Steve Mussoline (attackman).
“We’re all just trying to get looked at by college coaches,” Wydra said. “he exposure here was great.”