Fun Run dedicated to local physician
By Robert Cloud
This year’s Fun Run is dedicated to a Waupaca physician who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.
Scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 5, Fun Run meets at the old Riverside School, 950 Park Ave., Waupaca.
The theme for the 32nd Annual ThedaCare Fun Run is “Dr. Dan’s Dash.”
Dr. Dan Sutton, who is a past participant and winner of prior Fun Runs, was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)n June 2016.
“It’s always been an activity for the community, to get people out and active and to start spring right,” according to Dean Sondrol, a physical therapist who helps organize the event.
“Fun Run is not a fundraiser. It’s to promote wellness,” Sondrol said.
The event is hosted by ThedaCare and Health and Fitness Headquarters and includes a 1-mile run/walk or a 5K run/walk.
Sondrol noted that Sutton promoted active lifestyles and participated in the Fun Run.
In 2015, Sutton came in first place with a time of 15:39 in the 5K run.
“He was awfully fast in his healthy days,” Sondrol said.
In a letter to the Waupaca County Post, Sutton said he was treated with chemotherapy at ThedaCare Cancer Center after he was diagnosed with AML.
He seemed to be doing well until he experienced a relapse of his leukemia in September 2017.
“While there were a few options for treatment at that point, really the only feasible option to give me a chance of a cure was a stem cell transplant,” Sutton said. “Without this treatment, I would have had a very high risk for another relapse which has a poor likelihood of long-term survival.”
Sutton said there are two main options when considering a stem cell transplant – a related donor or an unrelated matched donor.
“In order to find a matching donor, HLA (human leukocyte antigen) matching is used. It is a much more complicated process than blood typing,” Sutton said. “HLA are proteins – or markers – found on most cells in your body. These HLA proteins are unique to each of us, but are passed on genetically so family members or people from similar ethnic backgrounds can often share the same HLA pattern.”
Sutton’s brother was not a match so he needed to find an unrelated match through a patient registry that compares millions of HLA types.
Out of 29 million registered potential donors, two were identified by a registry called Be The Match.
“As soon as my doctors began the search for a donor for me, Be The Match reached out to my wife and me to see if there was any help we needed with either navigating the information being given to us, emotional support, or financial support. These services are available to all patients in need of a transplant,” Sutton said.
In addition to research, Be The Match is also a patient advocate and helps guide patients through a complicated time.
Be The Match also supports donors and helps try to offset any costs that might be incurred during the donation process, such as missed work or travel expenses.
Sutton received a donation thanks to a young woman who remains anonymous at this time.
While there are a few different criteria that would prevent donation, anyone age 18-60 may potentially donate, although the best age is 18-44.
“If you would like to have the chance to save someone’s life and can feel good about signing up, join Be The Match as a possible donor,” Sutton said.
To find out more about Be The Match, visit https://bethematch.org/.
For more information and to register for Fun Run, go to www.tandhtiming.com/events/2018-thedacare-fun-run/.
The registration deadline for receiving a commemorative T-shirt is April 21.