Dear Friends and Supporters,

As always, I am participating in Swim Across America on September 7th and am in need of some support! 

This year, I will be swimming not 1, but 2 miles in Lake Sammamish! This will be my 10th year participating in the event, but my first ever 2-mile swim. However, the goal stays the same: spread awareness about cancer and raise as much money as possible to support the fight against it.

As you may know, cancer is very active in our society and community. Over 2 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed by the end of this year. Out of those cases, 611,720 will be deadly. That's 1,680 deaths per day, in the US alone. This makes cancer the second leading cause of death, behind heart disease. In children and teens, Cancer is the leading disease related cause of death. 

There is some good news though. WE can contribute and help stop this seemingly impossible battle with cancer and help world class doctors and researchers save the lives of millions of people and families who suffer around the world every day. We have made substantial progress with 3.8 million fewer cancer deaths from 1991 to 2020. This is largely due to research and treatments against the four most common cancer types – lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate. However, there is still lots of work to be done. Work that can give life to 2 million Americans.

I ask you to donate as much or as little as you wish, or even just share this note with others and raise awareness about this battle that we are called on to fight. Any money donated will go directly to the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. I encourage you to check them out at www.seattlecca.org.

Thank you from me, my teammates, and the rest of the world as we work together to end cancer.

If cancer won't quit, why should we?

With Best Regards,

Raffi Whaley

Thank you so much for your support as we make "Make Waves to Defeat Cancer."

Swim Across America, Inc. is a 501(c)3. All contributions are tax deductible.