Update from New York (Part 2)

Hello again from the Big Apple.

Today started with breakfast at Gracie Mansion with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. I visited with Mayor Bloomberg last year and saw him again earlier this month at the start of the New York City Marathon. We are both concerned about a range of public health issues - including smoking bans in public places and city spaces for exercise. The Mayor and I also talked about Dr. Freeman’s work in Harlem and other public health issues of concern to New Yorkers.

Next Doug and I went to lunch with our friend Kathy Giusti who co-founded the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) with her sister Karen Andrews. Kathy is a true force for good in the cancer world and she and her sister and MMRF have done some truly remarkable things that should inspire us all. I was honored to attend their Friends for Life Fall Gala in Connecticut last month as a special guest. A local reporter caught up with us at our lunch venue, Michael’s. You can read about that here.

We ended the day with a meeting with U.S. presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. Dr. Freeman came along with us. Senator Obama and I had a great discussion about funding at the National Institutes of Health - which he has promised to increase - and other issues relevant to the fight against cancer. Our next president must have a plan to fight cancer - our nation’s leading killer of people under the age of 85. I plan to continue this conversation with Senator Obama and all the other candidates.

More on the agenda in New York City tomorrow …

Lance