UPDATE: We are rescheduled to make this trek two years after it was postponed due to the pandemic.  I head out late March 2022!  Super excited to be a part!

I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Climb to Fight Cancer by joining journalist Luke Timmerman and a group of life sciences investors and executives on a trek to Everest Base Camp in March 2022.  It is something I have wanted to do for a very long time and I am honored to be joining Luke in his efforts to support Fred Hutch.

Why am I doing this? Cancer is a devastating disease, estimated to strike one in three women and one in two men in their lifetimes. And of course the funds I help raise will go towards lifesaving research. Yet the main reason I do this is that cancer impacts all of us, if not directly, through close family and friends.  I do this climb in support of the many touched by cancer, and especially for those who can no longer.

Fred Hutch has made some of the world’s most important medical advances — from developing bone marrow transplantation as a cure for leukemia, to pioneering powerful therapies that harness the immune system to fight cancer, to leading national and international initiatives that enable earlier cancer diagnoses and more effective treatments. This leading-edge research depends on private contributions that fuel novel studies.  Your efforts, including your contributions, can make a big impact.

And furthermore, Fred Hutch's work and research extend further than cancer.  The institution has been at the forefront of understanding covid and has numerous scientists dedicated to lifesaving work here and in other therapeutic areas, including HIV, autoimmune diseases, and genetic disorders.

Please click the “Donate” button. I myself have made $5,000 in contributions. But I still need your help in reaching my goal! Any amount you can give makes a difference to people and families facing deadly diseases. Fred Hutch is covering the expense of the trek itself, and I am covering flights and incidentals on my own, so your contribution goes directly to life saving research. Importantly, your gift is 100 percent tax deductible. Thank you all!