On September 22, 2024, a group of devoted swimmers will join Jeff for the 6th Annual “Swim for Sara” to raise funds for the Gastric Cancer Foundation. Proceeds will fund programs to raise awareness and expand research to find better diagnostics, treatments and ultimately a cure.

Sara Schottenstein lost her life to gastric cancer in the summer of 2016. Sara was deeply loved and respected by many. To honor her memory and raise critical funds for research, Jeff Schottenstein and his children created the “Swim for Sara” annual Alcatraz swim.

To donate, visit gastriccancer.org/swimforsara.

Congratulations to high school student, Sonam Konananhalli, for organizing a wonderful “Swings for a Cause” golf tournament in Chicago. The event raised $2,500 to support the Gastric Cancer Foundation.

The second annual “It Takes Guts Gastric Cancer Foundation Charity Classic” is hosted by Foley Sports Tourism and the Bama Beach Pickleball Club. 100% of the proceeds go to the Gastric Cancer Foundation. Last year’s tournament raised $20,000 for Gastric Cancer Foundation’s vital programs.

Thank You to All Who Participated in #SWIMFORSARA

We are extremely grateful to the Sara Schottenstein Foundation and everyone who made the 5th Annual “Swim for Sara” a great success through their participation and donations.

Seventeen swimmers joined Jeff Schottenstein for this year’s challenging Alcatraz swim, which honors the memory of Jeff’s wife Sara. The event raised over $100,000 for the Gastric Cancer Foundation’s important research initiatives and patient resources.

In 2019, Jeff Schottenstein dove into the cold San Francisco Bay to raise funds for gastric cancer research in memory of his beloved wife and mother of their three children, Sara. Thus began “Swim for Sara,” which starts at Alcatraz and navigates approximately 1.25 miles of rough waters, ending at San Francisco’s Aquatic Park.

The event has grown every year. This year, more than a dozen dedicated swimmers are expected to #swimforsara and raise funds benefitting the Gastric Cancer Foundation’s research, education, and patient support programs.

To donate, visit gastriccancer.org/swimforsara

Gastric Cancer Foundation Charity Tournament hosted by Foley Sports Tourism and the Bama Beach Pickleball Club. 100% of the proceeds go to the Gastric Cancer Foundation.

We are grateful to Silicon Valley Shakespeare for their special performance of Twelfth Night, benefitting the Gastric Cancer Foundation. Silicon Valley Shakespeare offered this performance for free and the talented cast of actors – whose lives have each been touched by cancer – all donated their talents to this special event. In lieu of admission, donations went directly to support stomach cancer research and awareness programs.

Thanks to their hard work and the generosity of their audience, they raised over $8,000 to support our education and research initiatives. Let’s give them a standing ovation!

If you missed the performance, view it online here or click “learn more” below.

The Foundation and the Gastric Cancer Registry offered a webinar on April 22nd to provide a project update and a preview of the new Genome Explorer web portal, which ensures that researchers and interested parties will have free access to Gastric Cancer Registry data.  A full recording of the webinar is available for viewing here:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcR4_k50h8Y&width=960&height=540[/embedyt]

Let’s gather together (virtually) with Chef Hans to begin the holiday season and learn some helpful tips for preparing happy and healthy meals. Follow our special Gastric Cancer Foundation LIVE STREAM event on Facebook with Hans Rueffert – our “Chef Without A Stomach.”

All videos will be posted here at the Gesundheit Kitchen after filming. See you in the kitchen!

In January 2020, actor Ellen Dunphy was cast along with a real doctor to act in a training video about terminal cancer. Six months later, she is diagnosed with real terminal cancer – and her oncologist is the very same doctor from the training video.

Her one-woman show, “Imaginary Endings,” grapples with mortality, acting, and what it means to be authentic. We are grateful to share Ellen’s special performance, which aired live on Sunday, November 28th. Alongside her performance, Ellen fundraised over $10,000 for the Gastric Cancer Foundation.

We are honored and humbled by Ellen’s incredible generosity, eloquence, and vulnerability in the face of this terrible disease. This is a powerful piece that will deeply touch those who have been impacted by gastric cancer.

If you missed the performance, view it online here or click “learn more” below.

Let’s share time together as we navigate this challenging time and stay safe at home. Follow our special Gastric Cancer Foundation LIVE STREAM event on Facebook with Hans Rueffert – our “Chef Without A Stomach” – who will prepare nutritious comfort foods with limited pantry ingredients.

All videos will be posted here at gastriccancer.org/letsmeetinthekitchen after filming. See you in the kitchen!

Let’s share time together as we navigate this challenging time and stay safe at home. Follow our special Gastric Cancer Foundation LIVE STREAM event on Facebook with Hans Rueffert – our “Chef Without A Stomach” – who will prepare nutritious comfort foods with limited pantry ingredients.

All videos will be posted here at gastriccancer.org/letsmeetinthekitchen after filming. See you in the kitchen!

Let’s share time together as we navigate this challenging time and stay safe at home. Follow our special Gastric Cancer Foundation LIVE STREAM event on Facebook with Hans Rueffert – our “Chef Without A Stomach” – who will prepare nutritious comfort foods with limited pantry ingredients.

All videos will be posted here at gastriccancer.org/letsmeetinthekitchen after filming. See you in the kitchen!

Let’s share time together as we navigate this challenging time and stay safe at home. Follow our special Gastric Cancer Foundation LIVE STREAM event on Facebook with Hans Rueffert – our “Chef Without A Stomach” – who will prepare nutritious comfort foods with limited pantry ingredients.

All videos will be posted here at gastriccancer.org/letsmeetinthekitchen after filming. See you in the kitchen!

Let’s share time together as we navigate this challenging time and stay safe at home. Follow our special Gastric Cancer Foundation LIVE STREAM event on Facebook with Hans Rueffert – our “Chef Without A Stomach” – who will prepare nutritious comfort foods with limited pantry ingredients.

All videos will be posted here at gastriccancer.org/letsmeetinthekitchen after filming. See you in the kitchen!

Let’s gather together (virtually) with Chef Hans to begin the holiday season and learn some helpful tips for preparing happy and healthy meals on Thanskgiving and beyond. Follow our special Gastric Cancer Foundation LIVE STREAM event on Facebook with Hans Rueffert – our “Chef Without A Stomach.”

All videos will be posted here at gastriccancer.org/letsmeetinthekitchen after filming. See you in the kitchen!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqRlmdDGEU8&width=960&height=540&centervid=1[/embedyt]

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

Digital campaign encouraging participants to share their “inner selfie” with a photo and descriptive word. KeVita donated $1 to Gastric Cancer Foundation for each post.

Social sharing campaign to help cancer patients take an active role in developing a “game plan” focused on the emotional, health and communications challenges that go along with cancer.

Gastric Cancer Foundation is participating in Ready. Raise. Rise., a campaign sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb to raise awareness of Immuno-Oncology (I-O) research, including the emerging area of biomarkers. This year, Ready. Raise. Rise. is introducing the Pic Your Power challenge—and we hope that you’ll take part!

We know that facing cancer takes enormous personal strength—and that each person’s inspiration is unique to them. That’s why we’re asking you to show how you harness your unique inner power to rise up against the disease.

To participate in the Pic Your Power challenge, go to Facebook and share a photo holding a sign that says #ReadyRaiseRise. Remember to review the submissions guidelines to ensure your photo will be accepted. With a total of one hundred photo submissions, Bristol-Myers Squibb will donate $250,000 to be split evenly across participating cancer advocacy groups—including us!

In April 2014, John Gyselbrecht was a beloved, active, healthy and happy math teacher, husband, son, brother and friend. Just 11 months later, gastric cancer took his life. Before John died, he publicly expressed his hope that one day, funding for this disease would allow sufferers to measure their lives in decades, not months, and eventually a cure would be found.

John’s friends and family will be clearing the coast of cigarette butts and other garbage this September. John, who had a Master’s in Environmental Education, cared about the plight of the oceans. Pismo Beach gave John particular comfort while enduring his chemotherapy treatments.

Through a fundraising campaign launched by John and his wife Stacy during his treatment, and the annual grassroots Guts and Butts events that honor John’s memory, over $88,000 has been raised for Gastric Cancer Foundation. The hope is to reach $100,000 through this 4th and final Guts and Butts event.

Digital campaign encouraging participants to share their “inner selfie” with a photo and descriptive word. KeVita donated $1 to Gastric Cancer Foundation for each post.

Grassroots beach clean-up event and fundraiser organized by Stacy Millich to honor the memory of her husband, John Gyselbrecht, who lost his battle with gastric cancer in 2015. Proceeds benefit Gastric Cancer Foundation.

The Foundation’s November annual event was a sell-out and drew hundreds committed to supporting gastric cancer research. “A Cause for Hope 2017 raised a record amount that will enable the Foundation to expand its research initiatives,” said Board Co-Chair, Paul Gottsegen. We are energized by the involvement and generosity generated by this special gathering.

Social media campaign to raise awareness of stomach cancer and the nutritional needs of these patients.

Private reception and benefit concert to support gastric cancer research. Michael Feinstein is an all-star force in American music. The five-time Grammy-nominated entertainer is considered one of the premier interpreters of American standards. He has received national recognition for his commitment to celebrating America’s popular song and preserving its legacy for the next generation. Feinstein’s cousin Ben died at the age of 20 from gastric cancer; hence, his commitment to Gastric Cancer Foundation is deeply personal.

Private reception and benefit concert to support gastric cancer research. Michael Feinstein, the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer is known as “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook”. Michael Feinstein has a deeply personal commitment to the Gastric Cancer Foundation because his cousin Ben died at the age of 20 from gastric cancer.

Grassroots beach clean-up event and fundraiser organized by Stacy Millich to honor the memory of her husband, John Gyselbrecht, who lost his battle with gastric cancer in 2015. Proceeds benefit Gastric Cancer Foundation.

Annual gala fundraiser raised over $100,000 for gastric cancer research.

Grassroots beach clean-up event and fundraiser organized by Stacy Millich to honor the memory of her husband, John Gyselbrecht, who lost his battle with gastric cancer in 2015. Proceeds benefit Gastric Cancer Foundation.

Private reception and benefit concert to support gastric cancer research. Michael Feinstein, the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer is known as “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook”. Michael Feinstein has a deeply personal commitment to the Gastric Cancer Foundation because his cousin Ben died at the age of 20 from gastric cancer.

Annual gala fundraiser raised over $160,000 for gastric cancer research.