This past March I was out to dinner with Melinda and Sarah who asked me if I was interested in running the 5k for runDisney in April for Dragon Master Initiative. To be honest, I was waiting for them to ask me one day and I thought "Why not?!?!"

I got to meet other Team Fired Up members and then learned a lot about what Dragon Master Initiative does. It is different than most non-profits I have heard of and decided I wanted to learn more and be part of a positive change in healhcare.

Here is the highlights / quick info about Dragon Master Initiative:

• When he was 16, David Pearson, the inspiration behind Dragon Master Initiative, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme, brain cancer. During his treatment, it became apparent that different hospitals and treatment centers were essentially silos. His family discovered a severe frustration in the cancer research community - a lack of resources to share medical research data between doctors and researchers.
• Clinical trial results take time, but time is limited in moments like these. Hoping to turn the loss of David into his legacy, they set forth to bridge the gap between isolated medical processes and real-time clinical research data. From this, the Dragon Master Initiative was born - a platform that would help solve the riddle of cancer through streamlined data sharing between researchers and institutions.
• The Dragon Master Initiative seeks to expand CAVATICA, a free research tool that enables doctors and scientists to instantly share, search and analyze patient data. Expanding this tool will allow researchers to use big data to identify patterns and further their research to uncover cures for cancer more quickly.
• Through CAVATICA, real-time feedback is shared, allowing researchers to modify the trials as they move forward instead of waiting for the results. The platform provides researchers with the ability to find out what works and fails, faster. The initiative also connects patients and their families with the resources they need to help them get through the journey with as much support as possible.

I am excited to get my second runDisney race under my belt and be part of a group "on fire" to find a cure for cancer

Thank you for your support in my efforts for Dragon Master Initiative

To learn more about our personal fundraising team for Dragon Master Initiative, please visit our team page by searching for "Cancer Cushers" in the top left hand side search bar!