Friday, September 12, 2014

2014 Tournament Results.......

FTTF 2nd Annual "Teeing Off With Friends" Golf Tournament on June 19, 2014 was an amazing success! We are thrilled to announce that we raised just over $20,000!  This goal was met through hard work, generous individuals & corporations as well as a lot of FUN! This year we were again blessed with numerous committed volunteers, kind & talented players and many generous sponsors who enable this event to happen. The FTTF board appreciates all the support and generosity we received before and during the tournament!

Thank you to Canon Gate at Magnolia Creek Clubhouse in League City. A special thank you to our Title Sponsor: Boyd Yarbrough with Surgical Elite. Thank you to our Bronze Sponsors: Dawson Football Camp, Mr.& Mrs. Redus Day UTMB Family Medicine Department (Dr. Barbara Thompson), Southwest Airlines &  Houston Sign Company. Thank you to our Hole In One Sponsor, Star Toyota. The Margarita machine & tent was a welcomed relief for our golfers thanks to Ronny Howell with Aztec. A special thank you to Tammy Oberholtzer with Tamara D Photography for ensuring we captured all the amazing moments of the day on film. The 2 time Texans Tailgaters of the Year, Chaparral Cookers, were on hand again to serve up their tasty BBQ and the unforgettable cardiac potatoes!

We had many corporate, private and individual contributions to our silent auction, golfer bags, golfer prizes and hole sponsorships. I will add our sponsor list here as well and hope you all accept our THANK YOU for your incredible support.

2014  Private & Corporate Golf Tournament Donors!

FTTF appreciates your generosity!

·       20/Twenty Vision
·       Aztec
·      Bernie & Steve Tomkies
·       Beth & Alan Stanfield
·       Bling Dat- Shelly Rodriguez
·       Blue Bell Creamery
·       Boyd Yarbrough- Elite Surgical Affiliates
·       Bryan Cox
·       C.A.G. Construction
·       Center Court Pizza
·       Center Court Pizza
·       Chaparral Cookers
·       Chapman Front End & Brakes- Josh Chapman
·       Charmarie  Carranza
·       Cheryl  & Redus Day
·       Cheryl Fortenberry
·       Christine Callahan
·       Craig Lambert
·       D&A Air Conditioning and  Heating
·        Dawson Football Camp
·       David Whittington
·       Dot's Sweet Shoppe
·       Dr. Colleen Silva- UTMB
·       Dr. Barbara Thompson- UTMB Family Medicine
·       Dusti & Aaron Suhre
·       Dynamo
·       Eric & Angela Wells
·       Floyd's
·       Gringo's
·       HEB- Dickinson
·       Hillary & Phillip Hunter
·       Holles & Randy Hunter
·       Honey & Jay Warwick
·       Houston Sign Company
·       Jackie & Domingo Montanez
·       Jaclyn Cobb-Chavez
·       Jean Tannahill
·       Jennifer & Tony Karner
·       Linda Goodrum, MD
·        Killens
·       Kristen & Marlon Reyes Granados
·       Lisa  & Richie Thibodaux
·       Lisa & Ray Callas
·       Liza & Kevin Durgens
·       Lynch & Company, LLP
·       Marilyn Ames- Bay Area Elite Properties
·       Margaret Tramonte
·       Mat Sweet- Adrenaline Fundraising
·       Matt Sweet
·       Metlife- Janet Garner
·       Nike
·       Pappasito's
·       Patti Summerville
·       Sara Carr
·       Southwest Airlines
·       Stanfield Properties
·       Starr Argyrakis & CCCC Small Group
·       Star Toyota
·       Stefano's
·       Tamara D Photography
·       Target
·       Terry Arnold- Inflammatory Breast Cancer
·       Terry Wilbanks
·       The Cheesecake Factory
·       Tommy & Alice Summerville- Southern Fastenings
·       VJ Tramonte
·       Willow Creek Golf


"Teeing Off With Friends" Golf Tournament had 31 Teams participate with over 124 golfers. I can not thank the golfers/ teams enough for their sportsmanship and for being a part of such a special day. Nearly every golfer participated in our silent auction, raffle, fire & ice raffle & enjoyed a delicious dinner provided by the Chaparral Cookers. Thank you to all the golfers and teams who came and supported our organization. Congrats to Team Yarbrough for the big win!

FTTF was exceptionally blessed with Volunteers who went over and beyond to ensure this event was a success.  Thank you to the FTTF Board members for all your tireless support and commitment: Dusti Suhre, Laura Ellender, Liza Durgens,  Beth Barraza, Hillary Hunter, Annette Newsom, Tanya Robinson, Jackie Montanez, Lisa Blakeman,, Jennifer Karner,  Natalie Bachynsky & Heather Carrifee. Thank you to our volunteers who helped stuff golfer bags and volunteered throughout the tournament: Dawson Football Staff, Cheryl Day, Redus Day, Holly Smith, Ashley Mueller,  Janet Garner, Brenda Isom, Amy White, Eric & Tammy Filkins, Kelsi Filkins, Lauren Filkins, Bailey Filkins, Curtis Svoboda, Cliff Richardson, Ricky Wright, Bernie Tomkies,  Marilyn Ames, Scotty Newsom, Tucker Wells, Spencer Wells, Angela Wells & Brandon Ellender.

FTTF is blessed to have a fundraising coordinator like Eric Wells. His leadership, passion and direction motivated our team to success. We are so grateful for the time, energy and contacts that he utilized to create a winning formula for "Teeing Off With Friends". Thank you Angela and Eric Wells!!

FTTF board sends out a THANK YOU to anyone who may have inadvertently missed!

It is FTTF mission to continue to serve local patients "fighting" breast or gyn cancers. Over just the past 8 months we have distributed almost $9,000 to our patients we sponsor. Since our August 2012 start date, we have distributed nearly $23,000!! Wow, this would not be possible without the success of these tournaments. Please consider to support our organization throughout the year as well as during tournament time as I see our patient volume continues to increase each month. We hope to continue to be blessed enough to support and provide assistance to those who need it. It is a true honor to support them and all who may come in the future.

Tournament Pictures can be viewed at http://friendsthruthefight.weebly.com/2014-golf-tournament.html

See our new Patient & Activity Picture Gallery: http://friendsthruthefight.weebly.com/fttf-picture-gallery.html

Please stay tuned......for next years date!

                
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

Friday, September 5, 2014

Mastectomy or No Mastectomy

New research.... I have a hunch there are mutiple factors which could account for some of these results but this is interesting. Woman & providers have tough decisions to make everyday. Tumor biology & it's behavior  & how recurrence occurs & why... Still so much research to be done! Thank you to all the researchers, research funders & pioneer patients who make it happen. 

Patients should always understand breast cancer (& all cancers) are not black or white. There are so many factors that go into the treatment decisions for patients & their providers ..... Tumor size, tumor receptor status, node status, mets, tumor grade, genetic markers, age.... On and on!  Enough of my thoughts, see article below. 

Monday, September 1, 2014

September National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Great read. This is for all our FTTF patients who know teal is as important as pink.  According to this article "Compared to the more than 1500 non-profit organizations dedicated to breast cancer, there are about 150 in support of ovarian cancer" (Sulik, 2011). FTTF are proud and honored to be supporting the pink, teal as well as teal & white (breast, ovarian & cervical).