Members of the Vanderbilt community are invited to lace up their athletic shoes and get ready to race/walk as members of “Team Vanderbilt” at this fall’s cancer awareness events.
This year, for the first time, Nashville will host “Purple Strides,” an event sponsored by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The 5K run/walk will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Country Music Hall of Fame Park, 222 5th Ave. South, to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research and awareness.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer and only about 6 percent of patients are still alive five years after diagnosis.
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is a non-profit foundation that provides funds for research and patient support and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) is a sponsor of the Nashville Purple Strides event.
VICC is sponsoring several local cancer fundraisers this fall and is hosting “Team Vanderbilt” kickoff programs to make it easy for Vanderbilt staff, friends and families to sign up for the events.
Registration fairs for Vanderbilt faculty and staff will be held Thursday, Sept. 6, 2-5 p.m. in the Langford Auditorium lobby, and Friday, Sept. 7, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks in the first-floor conference room. Participants can find out more about each cancer event, register for the events they want to support and pick up “Team Vanderbilt” T-shirts.
Participants can also register for individual events online by visiting viccfallwalks.org.
VICC is sponsoring or supporting the following 2012 cancer events in the Nashville area:
- Sept. 15 – Purple Strides – Pancreatic Cancer Action Network run/walk
- Oct. 6 – Music City Miles for Melanoma – Melanoma Research Foundation run/walk
- Oct. 12 – Light the Night – Leukemia & Lymphoma Society blood cancers run/walk
- Oct. 20 – Making Strides Against Breast Cancer – American Cancer Society run/walk
- Oct. 27 – Race for the Cure – Susan G. Komen for the Cure – Breast cancer run/walk
- Oct. 27 – Hank Thompson Trek and Treat – Uniting Against Lung Cancer run/walk
- Nov. 11 – CureSearch for Children’s Cancer run/walk
- Nov. 17 – Breathe Deep – LUNGevity Foundation lung cancer run/walk
For questions about the events, contact Jennifer.rice@vanderbilt.edu.