Dave Fleischer has just completed his Journey of Hope, a 15,000 mile "road trip" that he embarked upon six weeks ago to honor his daughter, Sarah, who passed away in 2018 from a horrible cancer, Cholangiocarcinoma. In this episode of NFN Radio News, Dave reports in from Maine after crisscrossing the country and visiting 19 communities called Hope, numerous Cholangiocarcinoma caregivers, patients and families. In today’s episode, Dave reports on more of these meetings, some that proved to be especially meaningful to him.
One such "meetup" was with Tom Lietzke (left), who is a 14-year survivor of Cholangiocarcinoma, and is shown here with Dave. Lietzke also prepared the image at the top of this post.
A major goal of the trip, which took Dave to all 48 contiguous states, was to raise money to support research into Cholangiocarcinoma and to spread awareness and bring hope to patients, caregivers, and others along the way. At more than $50,000, the Journey exceeded the goal of $45,000 – and more donations are still being accepted.
The road trip, in a car with a specially designed wrap promoting cholangiocarcinoma awareness, included stops at hospitals and healthcare institutions that specialize in research and treatment of the disease, plus the get-togethers with patients, caregivers and healthcare providers who were important in Sarah's life.
Cholangiocarcinoma starts in the bile duct and is an incredibly deadly cancer, which afflicts about 8,000 people in the United States each year. Most of its victims are 65 or older, but Sarah was only 31 when she was diagnosed. She passed away at age 35.
The trip was supported by the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, which made the specially designed Honda SUV available for the journey. Sponsors were Incyte, Ken Garff Honda, QED Therapeutics, Servier, Taiho Oncology, Welch’s Fruit Snacks and Zymeworks. Tee shirts commemorating the trip are available by clicking on the store at https:cholangiocarcinoma.org.
Listen here to our interview with Dave Fleischer as he reports in following his sixth and final week on the Journey of Hope.