Winter Season Starts

I'm looking forward to meeting the new team and starting to train for the Napa Marathon in March. I'm also targeting to raise $2,500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This is why ...

John Haluck became part of the LLS family almost a decade ago. He is now a trustee of the Greater Sacramento Area chapter and is not only a survivor but is a huge supporter of LLS.

When I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 2000, I was no stranger to leukemia, having lost a good friend to the disease. Still, going in for a routine physical and finding out I had an "incurable" form of cancer was a massive shock to both me and my family. I looked at my three kids and I wondered if I would be around to see any of them graduate from college or get married. It was the worst weekend of my life.

My doctor recommended a "watch and wait" approach, since my form of leukemia was chronic, not acute, and some people have lived twenty years with CLL. However, my cancer progressed much faster than my hematologist predicted. By 2004, he recommended that I start chemotherapy soon as the cancerous lymphocytes were increasing in number and could cause a stroke. He told me that there was no hope for a cure and advised me against looking for a clinical trial.

By this time, I was volunteering with my local chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, chairing and helping organize the annual Light The Night Walk. I also learned about a doctor, who has been funded by LLS, who does leading edge research in CLL - Michael Keating, M.D., at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. I contacted him and heard back immediately - he would see me as soon as I was ready.

The morning after the Light The Night Walk, I boarded a Southwest flight for Houston. After a battery of tests, I waited to see Dr. Keating. In walked this big, burly man (a rugby player, no less) who grabbed my hand and then gave me a big bear-hug. To my surprise, he said, "John, I think that we have a very promising treatment for you!"

I called my wife, who flew in, and I started a clinical trial the next day of a new targeted drug, Rituxan®, which was developed with the help of funding from LLS. The rest is history. After four days of chemotherapy, my white cell count had dropped to normal! A week later, the lumpy cancerous lymphocytes had disappeared from my lymph nodes. It was happening just as Dr. Keating had predicted.

Now I've had 53 months in complete remission. I feel a debt of gratitude to Dr. Keating and LLS, whose funding helped make Rituxan a reality. I have my life, and am able to enjoy it. And I have hope!

-- John Haluck

1:49:03 Thrilling US Half

Wow. My most thrilling race yet!

Replay my run here.

As we ran toward the Golden Gate Bridge from Aquatic Park in San Francisco, and climbed up to it, we couldn't see the Bridge until we ran onto it - it was that foggy. However it was just that time of the morning when the fog was burning off. As we ran north across the bridge the fog slowly thinned. We emerged on the north side in brilliant sunshine. Then, as we descended down and around the bridge on its north east side, we were treated to a magnificent few of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz, the City skyline and the Bridge through wisps of fog. Many runners around me were gasping at the view, as was I. We then ran south on the Bridge with the City skyline unfolding to our left while to our right we could see nothing but white fog.

Now it was a hard run! A tough climb up to the Bridge on the south side, slow climbs in both directions crossing the bridge, a tough climb back up to the Bridge on the north side and a final climb during the last mile through Fort Mason Park. Again the hills took their toll and the final three miles were fairly hard, but I was able to persevere for just three miles and finished strong. 1:49:03 is only a minute slower than my SJ Rock & Roll Half finish at the beginning of October, and SJ is a flat course.

I am thoroughly satisfied with the finish time, and thrilled about the experience. I'll try to run this race every year from now on!