Eric Sable will be running the New York City Half-Marathon this weekend with the Project Purple team. He is running in honor of his beloved uncle, Ed Braverman. I asked Eric some questions about his uncle, his family, pancreatic cancer and why this race is so important to him.
Question: Eric, I know you are running in honor of your uncle, Ed Braverman, who had pancreatic cancer. Can you walk me through the timeline of his diagnosis and treatment?
Eric: In the summer of 2010, my uncle started having severe stomach pain and loss of appetite. Doctors originally attributed the symptoms to medicine he was taking for other reasons and recommended he stop taking the pills. When there was no improvement, he was sent for a CT scan, after which he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In September, 2010, he went in for surgery to attempt to attack the tumor. Doctors found the tumor was not resectable so they went with chemo and radiation. While undergoing treatment, my uncle continued working and was able to enjoy his everyday life.
In early 2011, he went for a PET scan which showed the tumor had not changed in size. In the fall of 2011, he began to show signs of jaundice. He had a procedure to alleviate the condition, which was successful. However, the tumor continued to attack his body and he continued to lose weight and weaken drastically. He was also having a lot of trouble eating. In early December, 2011, he was put under hospice and on December 31, he passed away.
Question: What can you tell me about your uncle and who he was as a person?
Eric: My uncle Ed was married to my mother’s sister, Myra. He had two children, Robert and Kenneth, and four grandchildren. For his entire adult life he was an attorney. For most of it, the senior partner of his own boutique real estate firm. Ed was my first legal mentor and it is partly because of him that I not only became an attorney, but specifically became a real estate attorney.
Ed was not just an uncle to me. He was a friend, a mentor, a cooking partner, a frequent dinner companion and one of the kindest and most generous people I have come to know in my life. His love of life always radiated from his face, whether it was at his office or when we would go out for dinner. He would always insist I try new foods when we would dine together and as much as I thought I would hate what he was having me try, I liked it 99% of the time.
We spent countless holidays together which were always memorable, as well as countless weekends in the Berkshires. To me, my uncle was one of the finest people I knew.
Question: What else can you tell me about yourself and your other family members?
Eric: I am 30-years-old, married to Lauren for two-and-a-half years. I have two brothers (one is a cancer survivor) and loving parents (my father is a cancer survivor as well). My wife and I are both attorneys. I am a huge sports fan, and a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. When we aren’t working we like to spend time with friends and family, travel and take walks around the city.
Question: How did you get involved in running? How long have you been a runner?
Eric: This will be my second half-marathon. I ran the Chicago Spring Half in 2014. Before that race, I was not interested at all in running. However, I had a bunch of friends always training and running races. I decided it was a great way to be outdoors as well as exercise. One of my friends once told me that when it comes to running races, ‘the hardest thing to do is sign up’; meaning the commitment to doing the race would be the most difficult part. He was absolutely right because many races came and went before my brother (living in Chicago at the time) convinced me to sign up for that race. So, after much pushing from him, I signed up and began my training. I loved the half-marathon distance and decided my next one would not only be in New York, but I also knew I wanted it to be for a pancreatic cancer charity.
Question: How did you become involved with Project Purple? What do you hope to accomplish by running with a charity team?
Eric: As I mentioned above, I knew I wanted to run for a pancreatic cancer charity, something that has become so near and dear to my family. I love so much of what Project Purple represents and by raising money, I think I have also been able to raise awareness to friends and family about this terrible disease, and how important it is to do all we can to find a cure.
https://www.crowdrise.com/projectpurplenychalf16/fundraiser/ericsable
