About

Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Dr. Arek Dudek and I am running half marathons, 20 miles, and full marathon throughout the year 2011 to raise research funds and awareness for a devastating form of cancer called melanoma.  I am an oncologist at the Masonic Cancer Clinic, University of Minnesota. Although there have been significant improvements in diagnosis and treatment of many forms of cancer in the last 30-40 years, the effective therapy for metastatic melanoma still has very limited success. Unfortunately, it is estimated that about 68,000 men and women will be diagnosed in 2011 with this disease, and 8,700 men and women will die from melanoma in 2011.

Additionally, a unique characteristic of melanoma is that many diagnoses are made in young individuals and it is not uncommon to see a patient in their twenties or thirties with this devastating disease.

The increased incidence of melanoma in the more youthful populations, the lack of effective therapy, and the rising mortality rates are just some of the reasons that I am devoted to raising research funds to fight this disease.

Screening for melanoma is very critical as diagnosis at an early stage can lead to a cure. The University of Minnesota has a melanoma screening program available through their Dermatology Clinic. In recent years, there has been a growing interest within the University of Minnesota and the Masonic Cancer Clinic (a National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Center) to put together a team of researchers dedicated to make strides in the fight against this cancer. In fact, there is an ongoing vaccine trial for melanoma for patients with advanced disease. In addition, understanding the biology of the tumor has led to several novel therapies for this cancer that will be available soon for individuals with metastatic disease.

My running program involves daily runs of 3 miles, and 10 miles every Saturday or Sunday. The intensity of training will increase before 20 miles and marathon run. This year I have already completed one half marathon Securian Winter Run in St.Paul on January 29, 2011, with a good time. Next half-marathon is on February 19th (Half Fast), and the following on March 19th (Get Lucky). My goal is to raise research dollars with every mile trained. I’m asking each and every one of you to sponsor me for a specific number of race miles, at the price of $10 per mile. You can choose any number of miles you like.   One hundred percent of the funds raised from my site will go directly to the Melanoma Biology and Therapy Fund at the Minnesota Medical Foundation, a non-profit that directly funds projects at the University of Minnesota.

Together we can make improvements in the treatment of melanoma.