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Swimming fast and often to beat cancer

The various events have raised in excess of $100 million for cancer research, and the funding has been used to develop ten dedicated Swim Across America labs.

Swim Across America. Image provided to Digital Journal with persmission.
Swim Across America. Image provided to Digital Journal with persmission.

Cancer is a major cause of death and one that rises as a population ages. Numbers of new cancer cases and deaths in 2021 was 1.9 million for new cancer cases diagnosed and 608,570 cancer deaths, for data that relates to U.S.

Based on these statistics tackling cancer remains a health and medical priority for all countries. In the U.S., one leading charity has been raising funds to tackle cancer for over three decades – drawing on an interesting means of campaigning whilst keeping people fit.

The campaign organization Swim Across America is celebrating 35 years of ‘making waves’ to fight cancer. This anniversary is marked by billboards in Times Square celebrating some of the milestones. The organization started in 1987 with a sunken boat in Long Island Sound and it has since grown into a major movement to fight cancer through swimming and volunteering.

To date some 100,000 swimmers across the U.S. have helped to raise awareness about cancer and funds to help to combat the diseases. While many amateur swimmers have taken part in events, campaigns have also been supported by more than 150 Olympians.

The various events have raised in excess of $100 million for cancer research, and the funding has been used to develop ten dedicated Swim Across America labs with major medical institutions.

In addition, the activities have helped to fund four approved cancer treatments. These are: Opdivo, Yervoy, Keytruda and Tecentriq. In addition, cancer studies have also been funded and some  60 cancer grants are distributed annually.

As an example of the funding, in June 2022 encouraging news about a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. This showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment produced by GlaxoSmithKline.

To further mark Swim Across America’s 35th anniversary two big New York City-area open water swims are taking place weekend. These mark the half-way point in the Swim Across America summer of open water swims.

The events are:

  • Saturday, July 30: Swim Across America Long Island Sound – in Larchmont, NY
  • Sunday, July 31: Swim Across America Sound to Cove – in Prybil Beach (Long Island), NY

The proceeds from charity swims are granted to fund cancer research at world-renowned hospitals such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins.

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Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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