City of Hope

In February, I received a call that I spent my whole life hoping would never come - my sister, father and mother were letting me know that my mom had cancer. I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but this was nothing short of earth-shattering, and immediately everything was turned upside down. 
It was completely natural for my mom that she kicked into overdrive and immediately researched everything she could find about esophageal cancer: the best doctors, diets, timelines, and of course survival rates (which is one of the more unfun group activities your family can engage in together). For several reasons we chose City of Hope Hospital in Duarte.

Upon scheduling our first appointment, we quickly received a text message from Mindy at the Patient Services Program at City of Hope introducing herself as our "hospital patient services navigator", and that each patient is paired with one someone from this team. She explained that she would be waiting in the front lobby of the hospital to meet us and take us to all of our appointments, and to send any X-Rays, files, and diagnoses etc. 
From the moment we embarked on this journey at City of Hope, Mindy quite literally held our hand every step of the way, taking us to and from every appointment, helping us book PET scans and making sure no files were lost along the way. She helped both our doctors and our family stay on course and quickly led us through the many levels of bureaucracy involved in a major hospital, and made us feel that we had an extra member of the family on the inside; a completely invaluable member of the family.

On April 24, 2022 I'm planning to run the NYCRuns Brooklyn half-marathon for: Mindy - and the entire Patient Services Navigator Program at City of Hope Hospital. The Patient Services Navigator Program helps new patients navigate their journey: the hospital, the communication, the results, next steps etc. More so, the program can help patients and their families traveling to California to get situated (they help with anyone from accommodations to banking and transportation). On the whole, they make families feel cared for during what is arguably one of the most isolating and frightening stages of life. I can only hope that patients get this level of care everywhere. Please consider a donation to fund this program as I run the half marathon.

You can make a difference by donating today to City of Hope.
City of Hope is an independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as one of only 47 comprehensive cancer centers, the highest recognition bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, City of Hope is also a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, with research and treatment protocols that advance care throughout the nation.

Throughout the process of battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia, when we asked Dad if there was anything in particular that he'd like to do once he beat the odds and defeated this disease, he not surprisingly said that he'd like to give back. He wanted to use his "second chance" at life much like he used his first, helping people and making positive contributions to the world and those around him. 

Now that Dad has successfully received his bone marrow transplant after a year+ battle and is back to living life cancer free, we are starting this fundraiser as a first step in following through on the intentions we discussed in those late-night conversations in his hospital room. 

I (his son Brian) am running a marathon in Vermont on October 14th with my father-in-law on 6-weeks notice to make good on my own promise to him and his buddy Eugene (who is currently battling cancer and somehow running marathons still - incredible) that I would complete a marathon with them. In speaking to Dad, we have decided that this is a great opportunity for the Gump family to use this run as a platform to help raise money to give back to the City of Hope, the facility that is responsible for successfully curing Dad of cancer and giving him a new lease on life.

We only have 3 weeks until race day, so we've set the humble goal of raising $3,000 (we suggested $1,500, but Dad said to double it!) to give to the City of Hope and are asking if YOU would like to say "Thank You" with us through this gesture to the doctors, nurses, and organization for the incredible things they do in advancing the science of cancer treatment to where it is today. City of Hope is truly a world-class organization that has saved and will continue to save countless human lives while providing incredible service and dignity to thousands of patients and their families on a daily basis. 

Thank you for your support of Dad and our family throughout his battle and thank you for any and all contributions to this fundraiser. Our hope is that this first small gesture will assist City of Hope in helping several other families in their battle against cancer by advancing research and helping fund the programs and staff that make the incredible work they do possible.

-The Gumps