Dear Friend, Colleague, Stranger

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page and taking the time to read why I am running the NYC Marathon, but more importantly, why I am running for Tina’s Wish. If you haven’t already, hopefully reading this will convince you to donate, as well. 

Running the NYC Marathon has been a goal of mine since my father first ran it in 2015. I had always been in awe of long-endurance athletes, but seeing my own dad complete the race allowed me to believe that I could, too. And I knew then that, some day, I would run it. The question was always, when? And in all honesty, I did not think I would commit to a marathon this soon. After graduating from college in May 2021, having gained a few pounds here and there, running quickly became a passion of mine again as I transitioned to adult life. Over the next few months, I slowly started toying with the idea of running a marathon, and decided to commit to the process in April of this year. As such, I suppose the first question of when is now answered: November 2022.

The question that arose next was, how? How was I going to run the NYC marathon? Of course, I am not quite fast enough to qualify based on my time…yet. Maybe in a couple of years, but for now, definitely not. Hence, I started to explore the alternative route: participating via one of the New York Road Runners’ dedicated charity partners. After discussing with friends and family, I looked at a shortlist of charities whose causes I felt passionate about running for. This list included Tina’s Wish, which I heard about through good family friends, who are long-time donors & supporters of the organization. Thankfully, the organization still had a spot on the team, allowing me to join. Hence, the how was answered: via Tina’s Wish. 

That leaves the last question – the most important one - why Tina’s Wish? Well, after hearing about Tina’s Wish, I explored the charity
and its goals in more detail. I read about the late Tina Brozman, who passed away in 2007 from ovarian cancer. Towards the end of her time, Tina said that she was not angry about having ovarian cancer, she was angry that it was discovered so late. And therein lies the problem: this cancer isn’t difficult to cure – if detected early on, the survival rate is 92% – but it is incredibly hard to detect, meaning that over 80% of women do not discover the cancer until it’s too late. This makes it so that patients with advanced ovarian cancer have a survivability (>5 years) of just 27%.

Tina’s Wish is trying to change that. The goal of this organization is to find better methods to better discover ovarian cancer. And not just better, but earlier. Established in 2008, the charity has become the third-largest ovarian cancer research organization in the United States, raising more than €17m since then. Moreover, it is the only non- governmental consortium dedicated to ovarian cancer research, and works together with top medical institutions around the country, including those from my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. As a result, the research Tina's Wish funds, in part because of your generosity, will lead to innovations in the early detection and prevention of ovarian cancer, so that women around the world can  fight and beat this cancer.

A couple of months ago, I was still fortunate to say that neither my family nor close friends have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Sadly, that is no longer the case and the lovely mother of a dear friend of me is now facing the battle that Tina Brozman faced 15 years ago. And that many others face too. Although I know that my friend’s mother is going to get through this, nothing is a given. And because of that, I sincerely hope that you donate - not for those already facing this fight, but for the women with ovarian cancer who aren’t yet diagnosed - so that, with help from Tina’s Wish’s work, they identify this cancer earlier, and give them a better chance of winning the battle, a chance before it is too late. That there is my why.

If you've come this far, thank you for reading and I sincerely hope that you will donate. 

Best wishes, 

Frans