About The Event
A Letter from Melissa Danan
To all those drawn to be a part of something important, something big, something that can make a real difference in this world. To be a part of an event that can feasibly change the course of someone’s life. Maybe it will be a child, mother, grandfather, the love of someone’s life, or someone that you love that you will be helping. This can be done by attending and donating to an exciting event occurring October 15, 2011. What better way to celebrate Bernard Danan’s life then to tailgate with his family and friends and cheer on the University of Michigan Wolverines. Bernard is our fallen hero, who died of a sarcoma, a rare cancer of the connective tissue, on June 11, 2008 at the age of forty. Sarcoma has historically been an ominous, daunting, and fatal disease that affects around 8,000 people in the U.S. each year. Sarcoma accounts for just 1% of adult cancers and belongs to an unsung category of being an, “orphan cancer.” These are the lesser known cancers, the ones that most often get left behind when it relates to finding cures.
Bernard, to all who knew him, was an exceptional human being. The salt of the earth, kind, humble, and filled with faith. To his wife, young daughters, parents and siblings, he was the light of their world. To his patients, he was their brilliant healer, the surgeon that cured them and instilled in them hope that they would get better. To his friends he was generous, loyal, and quick witted. To strangers that met him, he was friendly and compassionate. This one man made a tremendous impact on this earth in his short life. Words cannot merely describe his achievements, his soul, or the depth of his spirit. His existence compels us to strive for something more, to be a better person, to pay it forward, as the saying goes. All who knew and loved Bernard felt his passion for University of Michigan football, tailgating, and cooking for all of his fellow Wolverine supporters. To know Bernard, was to love Bernard, and being a part of his life makes one feel like they are part of something purely good and right. Please be a part of this event that will 100% fund sarcoma research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center while we celebrate Bernard’s life. We can together, as a collective spirit, be a part of changing the prognosis of this disease. Come be a victor in this fight to end sarcoma as we celebrate life the way Bernard Danan so loved to do.
Melissa Danan