Team Julian
| View Event Members | |
| Event Captain: | Mrs. Cristiana X Fraser |
| Event Type: | Fundraise Your Way |
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JOIN THE BATTLE. Beat Rare Cancers.
Team Julian’s Support for Cycle for Survival
Welcome to the Team Julian Cycle for Survival donation page. Team Julian, a.k.a TeamJF is raising money for Cycle for Survival, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s movement to beat rare cancers. 100% of every dollar raised by Team Julian funds research and clinical trials in rare cancers led by Memorial Sloan Kettering. Cycle for Survival is fully owned and operated by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Your gift is 100% tax- deductible.
About 50% of people with cancer have a rare cancer. Rare cancers include brain, pancreatic, ovarian, and stomach cancers; all types of pediatric cancers; and many others. Research for rare cancers is drastically underfunded. But together with an extraordinary community of patients, doctors, survivors, caregivers, scientists, nurses, and supporters, we are making real, tangible progress for people around the world. Discoveries made by Memorial Sloan Kettering doctors and scientists are benefitting patients worldwide.
2021 marks the 15th year of Cycle for Survival. With over $286M raised for research and clinical trials led by Memorial Sloan Kettering, this community continues to change — and save — lives around the world.
Follow Along
Website: TeamJF.org
Instagram: @teamjf / https://www.instagram.com/teamjf/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamJF4Cure
TeamJF Coast to Coast Cycle to Cure Childhood Cancer
Alec Fraser and Jamie Meehan, supported by Cristy Fraser, Gina Modica and Team Julian friends and family are cycling from Connecticut to California to raise money for Cycle for Survival. The ride will start on Sunday, August 15 in Old Greenwich, CT and end on October 19 in Santa Clara, California. Alec and Jamie will cycle 4,650 miles and 119,000 ft elevation overall (68 miles per day for 68 days) in honor of Julian Fraser, Cristy and Alec’s son, and to raise awareness (and money) for rare cancer research. Julian Fraser was a sophomore and teammate on the water polo team at Santa Clara University when he was diagnosed in 2016 with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that afflicts children and adolescents. Julian passed away from his disease in 2017, at the age of 20. We honor his life by continuing the battle against rare cancers. The Team Julian ride will end at the Julian Fraser Memorial Water Polo Tournament at Santa Clara University. You can follow Team Julian’s progress here: https://teamjf.org
Cycle for Survival Breakthroughs
Below are just a few of the ways in which Cycle for Survival has funded research to combat rare cancers:
- Next Generation Tumor Sequencing
Cycle for Survival funding has been crucial to the development and clinical use of MSK-IMPACT™. This powerful diagnostic tool was approved by the FDA in 2017 and analyzes tumors for 505 genes known to play a critical role in both rare and common cancers, helping doctors match patients to the treatments and clinical trials that will most effectively target their disease. Memorial Sloan Kettering is on a mission to sequence all people with cancer who could benefit from precision medicine by offering free genomic tumor testing via MSK-IMPACT™ to patients with select rare cancers, including pediatric cancers. Funding from Cycle for Survival is helping make this possible through the Make-an-IMPACT initiative.
- Increasing Life Expectancy for People with Melanoma
In 2000, when Dr. Jedd Wolchok started at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the average life expectancy for people with metastatic melanoma was seven months. Now, thanks to research and clinical trials supported by Cycle for Survival, median life expectancy has increased to over five years — and counting.
- Pioneering Cancer Drugs
In 2018, the FDA approved larotrectinib to treat cancers caused by a specific genetic mutation called a TRK fusion. This was the first time a drug received an initial approval based on a mutation type rather than where in the body a tumor originates. Memorial Sloan Kettering led its development, and Cycle for Survival funds supported the research.
- A World-Renowned Sarcoma Program
The Sarcoma Medical Oncology Service, led by Dr. William Tap, works to improve outcomes for people facing this challenging disease. Cycle for Survival has helped build the world’s largest immunotherapy program dedicated to sarcoma, rapidly growing an arsenal of options to combat these 100-plus types of the disease. This includes more than 31 clinical trials to test novel strategies, as well as studies of ways to manipulate how drugs work and predict if a therapy will be effective for a patient before it’s even prescribed. Cycle for Survival’s backing has cemented Memorial Sloan Kettering’s reputation as a leader in sarcoma research.
- Pediatric Cancer Patients
All pediatric cancers are considered rare cancers, and research is extremely underfunded. That’s why Cycle for Survival is proud to fuel pediatric cancer research led by MSK Kids — where more children, teens, and young adults with cancer are treated than any other hospital in the United States. MSK Kids is home to a specialized precision oncology program singularly focused on childhood cancers, promising to deliver targeted therapies that come with fewer side effects to kids with cancer.
- Leading the Field in Immunotherapy
As pioneers in immunotherapy, Memorial Sloan Kettering doctors and researchers have made countless discoveries that continue to change the way cancer is treated. Memorial Sloan Kettering investigators uncovered a connection that holds true across all cancers: The more DNA mutations a person’s tumor has (known as the tumor mutational burden), the more likely the cancer is to respond to the immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors. They also reported on a possible way to quantify how efficient the immune system is at detecting cancer.
- Translating Brain Cancer Research Breakthroughs Directly to Treatments
Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Neuro-Oncology Research Translation in Humans Program aims to accelerate brain cancer research and the next generation of treatments for both adult and pediatric brain tumors. Cycle for Survival’s support plays a central role in the program’s ability to bring emerging concepts and scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the people who need them. Dr. Ingo Mellinghoff is leading a series of projects — from studying potential biomarkers that could predict tumor recurrence earlier than ever before to matching tumor DNA found in a patient’s cerebrospinal fluid using a tumor’s genetic profile — with each one delivering insights into how to better determine treatment decisions in the future.