Overview of
The Miles for Marc
Exon 20 Advocacy Program
ICAN's Miles for Marc Exon 20 Advocacy Program honors the lives of Marc Kuchler (1983-2015) and Janelle Wilson Nemeth (1982-2019) who battled EGFR exon 20 insertion-mutated cancer in an era where there were no targeted therapies for this rare cancer.
Marc was born and raised in Drexel Hill, PA. He graduated from Monsignor Bonner High School in 2001 where he played baseball and ice hockey. Marc attended Drexel University, where he also played ice hockey, and earned a degree in Architectural Engineering. At 28 years old, Marc would be diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer and begin the fight of his life. With the main tumor in his left lung he also had metastasis in the L5 spine, right shoulder, and multiple lymph nodes; Marc's battle would not be easy. Radiation to his L5 vertebrae and his right rib, three separate bouts with chemotherapy, maintenance drugs, two different clinical trials, an upper left-lobectomy, immunotherapy, and gamma-knife radiation to metastasis in his brain occupied Marc's life from October 2011 through February 2015. Marc's 40-month battle against this disease would sadly end at the young age of 31.
Janelle was born and raised in Chestnut Hill, PA. She graduated from Delaware County Christian School. Janelle attended Eastern University, where she received her Masters of Arts in Clinical Counseling. She started her own practice, Next Steps Counseling, as a Clinical Counselor helping many people through the years. Janelle Wilson Nemeth gave birth to her baby girl, Charlotte ('"Charlie"), in August 2018 and by October would learn that she had Stage IV Lung Cancer. Janelle's one year battle against this disease would end at the age of 37.
The Miles for Marc Exon 20 Advocacy Program will be devoted to sustaining research grants to further the work of ICAN's Exon 20 International Research Consortium as well as to help fund critically necessary travel expenses for patients in clinical trials who could not get to their trials but for their Miles for Marc travel stipend (in partnership with the Jackie Banana Foundation, a close collaborator of ICAN, International Cancer Advocacy Network).
In beloved memories of Marc and Janelle, our Exon 20 International Research Consortium is working on projects such as brain metastasis and leptomeningeal disease; resistance mutations and mechanism of resistance to exon 20 therapies; CAR-T cell therapies in EGFR and HER2 exon 20; and microRNA early detection efforts.
For more information, please contact us at MilesforMarcProgram@askican.org
The Miles for Marc Exon 20 Advocacy Program
is a vital part of ICAN's Cancer Patient Advocacy and Clinical Trials Program Advocacy Services.
ICAN is currently working on The Miles for Marc Exon 20 Advocacy Program. We are working to put together a Family and Friends Advisory Council for the The Miles for Marc Exon 20 Advocacy Program. If interested, please email us at MilesforMarc@askican.org.
If you would like to become involved as a donor and supporter or a member of our Cancer Research Literature team as a Research Team Leader (medical school students, physicians, nurses, and post-docs only please), you may reach us at MilesforMarc@askican.org.
Federal Tax I.D.: EIN 86-0818253