The fourth annual SMAC Out Cancer Pool Swim was another great success, raising over $84K and counting at the San Mateo Athletic. This year’s swim featured 11 fun events, seven Olympians, and honored multiple heroes in the fight against cancer.
The four-year total raised by SMAC Out Cancer stands at an incredible $296K to fund cancer research at beneficiaries UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. Congrats to event director Diana Thomas for putting together another great event this year.
The 2016 swim was named in memory of Jim Keller, who lost his battle with cancer in January. Keller was regarded as a brilliant and caring man that was a huge supporter of the San Mateo Athletic Club. He’s pictured here with Olympian Heather Petri in 2015.
The impact of the event was evident when the Olympians got to meet Wills Levy, a young hero that saved his brother’s life with a bone marrow transplant. The incredible and moving story of his younger brother Andrew’s battle with a rare and deadly cancer and unlikely recovery is featured in this emotional New York Times Magazine article. Olympians at the event included: Craig Beardsley, Mike Bruner, Susan Heon Preston, Roque Santos, Glenn Mills, Ellen Estes and Christine Magnuson.
Wills Levy (center) with Olympians at SMAC
The event features fun events not usually associated with SAA pool swims including an aqua aerobics boot camp, and out-of-water fitness challenge and a dance party. Check out the whole photo library to see all the breathtaking images from the event. If you’re interested in starting a pool swim in your community, learn more here.
Members of the Swim Across America family are active in their communities. SAA on the Scene shares stories from the “dry side” of our events where the SAA mission to make waves to defeat cancer is honored and recognized. Feel free to send submissions for future posts here.
Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) Discovery Celebration
Harvard Club (New York) – April 14
Greenwich-Stamford co-chairs Michele Graham and Lorrie Lorenz, and SAA Director of Events Craig Beardsley were in attendance to learn how dollars granted to ACGT are defeating cancer.
Swim Across America AYA Lounge One-Year Anniversary Celebration
Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa) – April 26
SAA – Tampa Event Director Rob Shapiro and committee members Alicia Reyes-Shapiro, Tony Scicchitano, Janice Scicchitano and Olivia Fridgen participated in the one-year anniversary of the Adolescent and Young Adult Lounge opening. We profiled AYA in our lab series profile.
SAA – Long Island Sound Swim Kickoff Event
Larchmont Yacht Club – April 27
The 24th annual Long Island Sound Open Water Swim Kickoff event took place on April 27th. Beneficiary representatives from Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Columbia University Medical Center and Cancer Support Team attended the event. Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD (of MSK) and Dr. Andrew Kung, MD PhD (of CUMC) spoke at the event sharing breakthroughs being made to defeat cancer in their labs.
Craig Beardsley (SAA Director of Events), Jean Fufidio, Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD, Dr. Sadna Budhu PhD, Tony Sibio (SAA – LIS chair and event director)
Robyn Gartrell MD, Dr. Andrew Kung, MD PhD, Lucille Winton, Katie Shields, Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD, Dr. Sadna Budhu PhD, Dr. James Garvin MD PhD, Tony Sibio (SAA – Larchmont chair and event director)
Your donations allow SAA to provide funding to some of the world’s most renowned cancer institutions. This is the first in a series featuring the SAA LABS that our beneficiaries have named in honor of the efforts of Swim Across America.
Swim Across America Adolescent & Young Adult Lounge
This month, we are profiling the Swim Across America Adolescent and Young Adult Lounge at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in April 2015 (featuring Tampa Bay Open Water Swim Event Director Rob Shapiro, former SAA CEO Janel Jorgensen-McArdle and current SAA CEO Rob Butcher). The SAA AYA Lounge is used by the approximately 100 young adult cancer patients at the hospital every day. Olivia Fridgen, AYA and LATTE Program Coordinator at Moffitt provided this insight.
How has the reception been to the SAA AYA Lounge by patients?
The reception from patients has been amazing. The corkboard wall on the lounge shows patient artwork, the white board has encouragement from patient to patient and the lounge journal has pages and pages of thoughts and inspirational words. It has been a respite for inpatients who need a change of scenery, as a place to spend time with their family and friends who come to visit and a great spot for the AYA (Adolescent and Young Adults) Program to host events and support groups.
Since the SAA AYA Lounge is different from other research-based SAA Labs, what interesting facts can you pass along? We are the 1st AYA Lounge in Florida, the 3rd in the country. We are also unique because our lounge provides physical space not only for our inpatients but our outpatients as well. Some of the traditional lounges are built in conjunction with inpatient units and therefore are not accessible to outpatients. Another unique mention is that our Moffitt AYA Patients actually designed the entire space – they picked out color schemes, fabrics, flooring and lighting so that we were confident our lounge was hitting the mark and what AYA patients would actually want in a space.
Do patients get treatment in the SAA AYA Lounge?
No, the lounge is a place to get away from the hustle bustle of the hospital life. The Lounge has the latest gaming systems, comfy couches, white boards, board games and art supplies. The inpatient floors of the hospital, where admitted patients would receive treatment, is steps away which provides convenience and access to the lounge.
How much did it cost to build the SAA AYA Lounge?
SAA has donated nearly $140,000 to the AYA program over the years and monies from the 2014 race were specifically designated to the creation of the SAA AYA Lounge.
Does the AYA Group anticipate this to be a trend in hospital systems moving forward?
Yes, organizations like Teen Cancer America are working with AYA Programs across the country to fund and offer physical spaces in hospitals for young cancer patients.
Why is it important for Moffitt and other hospitals to have a lounge for adolescent and young adults?
Adolescent and Young Adult patients feel like they are the only 20- or 30-year-old in the entire hospital. While we know that isn’t true, each patient is seen in their respective clinic (for example, if you have breast cancer you’re seen in the Breast Clinic, if you have Lung Cancer you’re seen in Thoracic, etc.), so they never get the chance to run into one another. The Lounge provides a space where Young Adult cancer patients can actually meet another young person with cancer. Because it’s in a communal space, it’s less awkward, more organic and can reduce the feelings of isolation many AYAs feel, which is important to their psychosocial state of mind and also can create lasting friendships. Many of our patients say that family and friends are extremely supportive, but no one quite “gets it” like another young cancer patient.
Swim Across America 