As 2010 draws to a close, the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation would like to thank each of you for your support of our work. This year has been especially exciting because of the first Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day on November 10th. It is our pleasure to serve on the Steering Committee and participate in plans for the global campaign for carcinoid and NET cancer awareness. The results were extraordinary. Hundreds of events were held on and around the day in the United States, Singapore, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, and Norway. Individuals, support groups, carcinoid/NET cancer foundations and organizations, businesses/corporations, politicians, and the media joined together with incredible results. Information about NET cancer was distributed during runs, a parade, at hospitals, in schools, at gala balls, and during special conferences.
Over 4,600 people have signed the 
Proclamation online in support of the day and more than an additional 2,000 signatures were obtained in person. Fifteen United States governors from New York to California signed proclamations or wrote letters in support of the day. Publicity coverage featured individuals living with carcinoid as well as the announcement of the awareness day and events held in support of NET cancer awareness. Zebra stripes could be seen near and far!
We are very pleased to report that in the summer of 2010 the one millionth visitor came to the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation’s website, www.carcinoid.org. We are so proud that our website is considered the premiere resource for carcinoid/NET cancer information and that we serve patients, family members, friends, and the medical community in more 100 countries. Our visitors come from 6 continents, from countries such as Austria, Kenya, India, Japan, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, China, France, Israel, Japan, the Mariana Islands, Venezuela, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, and more. In November we launched our newly redesigned website. The site has been made even more user friendly and will include several new components in the coming year. Please keep visiting as we add new sections and share your thoughts with us.
In April, the Foundation presented its annual symposium at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City for patients, caregivers and the medical community. Michael J. Demeure, MD, MBA, Director of the Rare Tumors Center at Scottsdale Health in Arizona, spoke about his cutting-edge research on treatments created for individual carcinoid and other neuroendocrine tumor patients based upon personalized genomic analysis. Dr. Demeure and his colleagues at TGen, the Translational Genomics Research Institute, based at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, Scottsdale Healthcare, are using the knowledge and technologies developed from the Human Genome Project to develop new ways to diagnose and treat disease including cancer.
Over 30,000 people learned more about activities within and of interest to the carcinoid/NET community through this blog and nearly 1,000 have become Friends on the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation’s Facebook page. Please become a Friend if you haven’t already and help us reach the 1,000 Friend milestone.
These are just a few of the highlights of 2010. Our pledge to you in 2011 is to continue working to bring about greater awareness of carcinoid & NET cancers; to educate the medical community and the general public to look for, diagnose, and treat these diseases early; and to serve as advocates for the carcinoid/NET community throughout the world. We hope that 2011 will bring many advances in carcinoid/NET cancer research.
You can also participate in iWalk for Carcinoid, a virtual walkathon to help raise money for carcinoid-related organizations. The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation is one of the organizations selected to benefit from this virtual walkathon. Each organization has the opportunity to receive up to $10,000 in contributions. Contributions will be based on the number of registered walkers and completed city walks per organization. Taking part in the community is easy. With every virtual footprint, you can iWalk on your own, invite family and friends, or create your own team. You’ll be able to join the fun and donate your time without leaving home, putting on your sneakers, or spending any money.
The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation team wishes you and your loved ones a very happy and healthy New Year.
