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Together, we can find a cure

| 26 Apr 2017 | 09:19
    Barbara Lipton completed her ninth half marathon in March, raising more that $2,000 for the Pocono FoxTrot and the Michael J Fox Foundation. To donate visit poconofoxtrot5k.org (Facebook photo)
    Barbara Lipton completed her ninth half marathon in March, raising more that $2,000 for the Pocono FoxTrot and the Michael J Fox Foundation. To donate visit poconofoxtrot5k.org (Facebook photo)

I am a sassy, active and independent woman who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a little over three years ago. After my diagnosis, I set out to learn as much as I could about the disease.
A problem that plagues the research and medical community is that Parkinson’s affects everyone differently. Some patients experience predominantly motor symptoms, others are more disabled by non-motor symptoms such as depression, anxiety and cognitive decline. While the gold standard treatment provides symptomatic relief of tremor, no therapy exists to slow or halt disease progression. So how do we get there?
The combined direct and indirect costs of Parkinson’s disease are estimated to be in excess of $25 billion a year in the United States alone. Yet, the National Institutes of Health budget for Parkinson’s research in 2016 was only $146 million (less than 1 percent of PD costs). Approximately 1 million Americans are currently suffering from Parkinson’s disease and with the increasing proportion of the aged population, the prevalence of PD is expected to double by 2050.
Without increased public awareness and increases in federal and nonprofit funding, progress toward finding effective treatments is stalled. Patients, their caregivers and researchers need your support.
I decided that I would help by coordinating the first-ever Pocono Fox Trot in 2015 a 5K walk/run to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. I am thrilled to announce that in the last two years, more than 250 individuals have participated and $52,000 was raised for research. Plans for the third Pocono Fox Trot are underway and will be held at 8:00 AM on June 17th at Ann Street Park in beautiful downtown Milford, PA.
Please visit the Pocono Fox Trot website at runsignup.com/Race/PA/Milford/PoconoFoxTrot5K to learn more about the event, sign up to participate or make a tax-deductible donation.
April is Parkinson Awareness month. This is your chance to make a difference.
Marcia Guberman
Founder, Pocono Fox Trot