Omega Watches & St Jude's Children's Hospital

This past year I have been involved with more charitable functions in and around the poker world. I have a really good one coming up next week just outside of Washington DC in Tyson Corners Virginia for St Jude’s Hospital Children’s Research. It will take place on Thursday October 14th.

Omega Watches is the sponsor of the event and unlike many of the poker world “charity” events, every penny raised goes to the charity and not the expenses of running the event. I have been to a few events where the donations first pay for the expenses of the event and most of the donations never reach the charity. Needless to say I won’t participate in those types of events anymore. I am attaching a letter from St Jude’s describing the specific project we are raising money for.

The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital—Washington University
Pediatric Cancer Genome Project

What is the difference between a tumor cell and a normal cell? Why does one cell develop normally, but another similar cell gives rise to a deadly disease? If we answer those questions, we may find out which children are likely to get cancer. We may be able to determine which patients will respond to treatment and which will not. We may discover better ways to kill cancer cells without creating harmful side effects. We may be able to send more children home cured.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is teaming up with the Washington University School of Medicine to conduct the largest study of its kind ever to identify the genetic changes that give rise to pediatric cancers. The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital—Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project will decode the genomes of 600 childhood cancer patients who have contributed tumor samples for this historic project. Scientists will sequence the entire genomes of normal and cancer cells from each patient, comparing DNA to identify the genetic mistakes leading to cancer. The knowledge gained from this effort will be the foundation for scientists to develop powerful new ways to diagnose, treat and cure childhood cancer in the 21st Century.
Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, childhood cancer still claims the lives of more American children over the age of one than any other disease. In fact, cancer kills more children in the U.S. than muscular dystrophy, AIDS, cystic fibrosis, asthma and juvenile diabetes combined. Although St. Jude has led the way in improving the survival rates of childhood cancer from under 20 percent when we opened in 1962 to 80 percent today, we strive to make cancer curable for all children. The Pediatric Cancer Genome Project is the largest and most powerful single initiative in our hospital’s history and is essential to the pursuit of this goal.

We now turn to our most dedicated supporters to help provide the funds necessary to complete this ambitious project, which is estimated to cost $65 million over three years, with $55 million coming from St. Jude. Powerful new techniques in genome science and a reduction in the cost mean that an investment now could yield enormous benefits for children with cancer.

We are on the threshold of a revolution in our understanding of the origins of cancer. For the first time in history, we have the tools to identify all of the genetic missteps that turn a white blood cell into a leukemia cell or a brain cell into a brain tumor. Now is the time to seize this opportunity for progress, but we need your help in getting there. The future of children with cancer depends on it.
Numerous funding and naming opportunities are available to you as you join with us in this pioneering exploration into the origins of childhood cancer. Your gift to the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project will impact the understanding and treatment of childhood cancer throughout the 21st century, and lead us closer to the day when “no child will die in the dawn of life.”

For more information you can email me at [email protected].