Million dollar Marie.

Maire was a champion for her disease. Her last days involved participating in a race that would “Stomp Out Sarcoma” and “kick sarcoma’s butt.” She wanted her life to count even when it was over, to have meaning even though her life ended at the age of 24. Please help her do just that!

Maire suffered from a rare cancer called sarcoma which grew from her heart. Sarcoma can begin in the connective tissues anywhere in the body including bone, muscle, fat, blood vessels, deep skin tissues, nerves, and cartilage.. Cardiac sarcoma arises within the heart, one of the most deadliest places for a cancer, prematurely terminating young lives such as Maire’s in a matter of months. There is no known cause for cardiac sarcoma and limited treatment options. Although rare, much has already been learned from sarcoma about how cancers grow and spread as it is often caused by specific and relatively simple changes in the genes within the tumor and not from environmental exposures such as smoking. Thus, despite being so uncommon, sarcomas can provide amazing information on solving cancer.

Cardiac sarcoma specifically provides a unique opportunity for studying cancer as it grows quickly with affected patients having a median life expectancy of only 9 months. This offers researchers a potential for understanding tumor biology and effects of targeted drugs quickly instead of waiting years for results. Your support and research dollars will be used to support the University of Michigan as a center for excellence and a model for sarcoma and cardiac tumor research. This fund will foster multidisciplinary clinical care and create communication between large cancer centers to not only solve this disease, but realize the goals of personalized care of the cancer patient. These tumors can shed a great deal of light on other more common cancers, such as breast and colon.

There is no price that can be put on life. Please consider donating to this fund and help Maire realize her goal! Together we can learn from her spirit and her disease to make a difference.

Visit victors.us/mairekentfund to donate to the Maire Kent Memorial Fund for Sarcoma and Cardiac Tumor Research.

Donors that provide more than $5,000 will be provided with an annual report on how their funds are being used and follow the progress that is being made.