Qtr 4 2014 Newsletter & Event Informaiton

 

REPORT

 The fourth quarter of 2014 ended the most significant year that ECEF has experienced and we are pleased to report the Year in Review as follows:

  •  ECEF GALA
  • April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month, and it was on April 29th that ECEF had its Inaugural Gala Event. The event was held at the New York Hilton Hotel, and was orchestrated by Phil Alongi an Emmy Award winner and member of ECEF’s Board of Directors. The evening Honored Kimberly Guilfoyle for the work she is doing to bring awareness of this disease that took her Dad and Our Medical Advisory Committee comprising  Drs Manjit Bains, David Tom Cooke, Raja Flores, Hans Gerdes, David Ilson, Martin Karpeh and Bernard Park, for their dedication to their patients and for saving so many lives.The program included presentation by families who have lost a loved one to this disease and a segment of the evening recognized survivors that attended the event. The evening was capped by a singing performance by Phil and Caitlin Alongi that was the icing on the cake.

Although we have decided not to have our second Gala in 2015 it will definitely be on our planning agenda for 2016.

  •  New Jersey Wireless Association (NJWA)

In our Third Quarter Newsletter, we reported that the NJWA had selected ECEF as it’s Non-Profit Foundation for 2014 and that a grant went along with that designation.

Our plan is to develop a model for New Jersey which will include a video about esophageal cancer, newspaper advertisements and establishing a blog on our web site that will focus on awareness and educating of the public about this disease.

Our model has begun to take focus.

  • We had a video prepared by a team of people that understood who we are and what we are all about, and I believe captured the essence of that in the video they prepared and you can see at www.fightec.org. It is on our home page in the lower right section of that page or you can view it here .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvdBJZ_EonI
  •  We have begun capturing the contact information for adult communities here in New Jersey and we plan to provide them with a package of information for distribution at their residents meetings. The package will include the video, as well as pamphlets about esophageal cancer and warning signs that they should be aware of as they live their lives.
  • We are also working on a TV and newspaper package that will be shown on New Jersey TV stations as well as those stations servicing the New Jersey communities.

We will adjust the plan as we go forward, and our hope will be to use this model for other States and in this way take a step towards our mission statement that states: To bring awareness and educate the public and medical community about esophageal cancer

  •  Novadaq

In 2014, we made contact with Novadaq and they were a significant sponsor of our 2014 Gala Event. We will be doing a presentation at their Annual Sales Meeting to be held in January, 2015. The focus of our presentation is to show from a patients perspective as to what they do in marketing their surgical products can save lives of patients with esophageal cancer.

  •  Social Media

We have become very active with our Facebook experience and we have created a BLOG for our web site. We have posted to our BLOG 5 brief segments of my story and my experience as I journey through this disease.

Patient Programs

We have over 50 people who have signed up for our Conference Call Support Group meetings that are held on a monthly basis. We normally get around 10-15 people at any one meeting and we will have Dr. David Tom Cooke as a participant at our January 21st meeting.

Our hot line 732-385-7461 is active and we are receiving calls from patients, who in some cases know nothing about this disease. We have also been placed on a resource list of a major cancer center to help patients navigate through this disease.

 Events

 During the Fourth Quarter we had the following event:

Annbeth Katz In Memory of her husband Gerry

Each year Annbeth takes up this project in a letter campaign to all her friends, family and business associates telling them what progress is being made in the research projects that we are supporting and that ECEF Certified Financial Statement for 2013 indicates that 97% of the money that is donated to us goes to research projects that ECEF is supporting. They can see these projects on our web site www.fightec.org and the donations we have given to each project under the captioned “Donations at Work”.

Planned Events 2015

Lorraine Castanio and Family in Memory of their Husband and Father Frank

 Each of the last three years, Lorraine and her daughters have had a Bowling Outing in memory of Frank Castanio and they have raised significant dollars for ECEF in its pursuit for an early detection of this disease.  This year’s outing will be held on January 23rd at the Wantagh Lanes in Wantagh New York. See our web site www.fightec.org under “What’s Happening” for more details about this event.

Erin Silliman Dash for Dr. George

 This event is scheduled to be held on April 18th, at the Clinton Nature Preserve in Villa Rica Georgia. It will be in memory of Dr. George L. Harkins Jr. and Gene Barnes. You can check our web site www.fightec.org  for sponsorships available and information about these two gentlemen.

The Esophageal Cancer Memory Walk

 Since 2000, there have been 10 deaths from EC in Clinton County, Indiana. The families of these victims are coming together for the second year to honor their loved ones and hopefully inform our community about esophageal cancer. The Esophageal Cancer Memory Walk will be held on April 11, 2015. Like the 2014 walk, all monies collected from this event are to be donated to ECEF. You can read about the people that are being identified on our web site www.fightec.org and by clicking on the “What’s Happening” button.

Other Events

We are working with other people and families who have decided to help bring awareness of this disease and as more information is developed from these events we will make them known to you through our newsletters and social media postings. Some of these events are targeted for April which is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month.

If you would like to have an event, in memory of your loved one, or to bring awareness of this disease, please contact us at info@fightec.org  and together we can accomplish what you would like to do. The Event can be a letter campaign which would require you to simply identify who you would want this letter to go to and ECEF will do the rest.  You can also have a walk/run event or some other type of event whether it be, a bowling outing, day at a race track or anything that is a favorite of yours or your loved one and we can make it happen.

EC ARTICLES

   On our web site www.fightec.org we have a category called EC Articles. We rely on Google to give us a copy of the original articles that mention Esophagus or Esophageal Cancer. We review the articles, and those that would be of interest to a patient and their family will be posted to our web site under various categories within EC articles. These articles are also posted to our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Below are the articles we have selected for this quarters newsletter:

My Cancer Centers: SPDT successful in Treating Esophageal Cancer

Jerry Levinson was 45 when he began having difficulty swallowing, developed heartburn and vague chest pains.  His doctor ordered a chest MRI and a thoracic CT and ultrasound.  The diagnosis was esophageal cancer.  His doctor recommended standard American treatment – surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Levinson worked in hospital administration, and had seen firsthand the devastating effects of these treatments.  According to the Medical Tourism Association, Levinson was one of half a million Americans looking for an alternative to standard therapy.

 

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/my-cancer-centers–spdt-successful-in-treating-esophageal-cancer-300013753.html

 

Obesity, Acid Reflux Precursor for Developing Esophageal Cancer

Driven by obesity and acid reflux, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus has become the fastest rising cancer in white men in the United States.

http://www.dailysunnews.com/news/2014/dec/30/obesity-acid-reflux-precursors-developing-esophage/

 Conclusion

If you have any thoughts about what you would like to see more about in these newsletters please let us know. We are always interested in assisting the patients and caregivers as they journey through this disease. You can email us at info@fightec.org .

Respectfully submitted

Bart Frazzitta

President

 

 

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