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Cancer survivors enjoy Vail ski day

Marcia Donziger
MyLifeLine.org Cancer Foundation
Vail, CO Colorado
Special to the Vail DailyThe group from Rise Above It has a mid-day ski break in the Two Elk Lodge at Vail last Saturday. The group of children and young adults with cancer, and their friends and family, spent the day in Vail last week with skiing legend Jeremy Bloom.
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VAIL, Colorado ” Adolescents and young adults with cancer were celebrated in Vail, Colorado last Saturday with a day of skiing and snowboarding.

Jeremy Bloom, philanthropist and accomplished professional athlete, was there to share his experiences as an Olympic mogul skier and member of this year’s U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. Bloom skied with several program participants, helping them out with small pointers along the way.

Rise Above it, a nonprofit organization that helps in the fight against adolescent and young adult cancer, hosted the event. The strength and spirit of its late co-founder, Colin O’Donoghue, inspires the organization’s efforts.



The event was right at home in Vail, where O’Donoghue loved to ski ” his ashes were scattered at Benchmark Point in East Vail, where a memorial stone now remains in his memory.

O’Donoghue deeply enriched the lives of others as a friend, teacher and coach. After his cancer diagnosis at the age of 26, he demonstrated a true passion for the cause of beating cancer in young adults.

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Rise Above It supports cancer research and fellowships that stimulate the advancement of new approaches for treatment and prevention of cancer in adolescents and young adults.

MyLifeLine.org was an event sponsor and is a partner in the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance. MyLifeLine.org is Denver-based nonprofit organization with the goal to empower every cancer patient and caregiver with a free, personal Web site that helps patients communicate with friends and family during the treatment process.

Last week was the 7th annual National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week ” nearly 70,000 young adults in their 20s and 30s are diagnosed with cancer each year and it is the leading disease killer among 20 to 39-year-olds. Young adults with cancer have had less survival improvement than other age groups and strides made in cancer treatment have bypassed young adults, who also have the lowest participation rate in clinical trials of any age group. Rise Above It exists to help change this disturbing trend.

Ryan O’Donoghue, Rise Above It’s founder, strives to honor his brother’s legacy. Colin O’Donoghue always believed that enjoying life and embracing a positive attitude were essential components of happiness. Using this principle as inspiration, Rise Above It devises fun and positive events that raise money to accomplish its primary objective, which is to provide meaningful support to young cancer patients.

What better place than Vail to give young adult cancer patients a once-of-a-lifetime ski and snowboard experience with Jeremy Bloom? It was surely be a day they’ll always remember.

Find out more:

To learn more Rise Above It and MyLifeLine.org, visit http://www.raibenefit.org and http://www.mylifeline.org.


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