About two weeks ago (Sept 2024) my wife and I went out on an impromptu date at a local sandwich shop. We ordered some expressos and settled in at our table while waiting for our meal. As we were waiting we received an email from the daughter of some lovely family friends explaining that she had just been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. Her blood cancer is not fatal (Thank God!) but it is chronic and causes her platelet counts to skyrocket to levels which are life-threatening when left untreated. Although she is only in her twenties this disease is forcing her to make drastic lifestyle changes and she will need chemotherapy treatment for the rest of her life to manage her symptions.
Even though I had signed up to volunteer for the Leukemia and Lymphoma foundation before I came aware of my friends' daughter's illness the reality of knowing someone afflicted with such a condition has changed my outlook on why I'm volunteering this year. The main comfort that I have in my friends' situation is that the her condition is treatable and with proper care she can still have a reasonable quality of life.
How is this possible? Through the generosity of private foundations and government-funded institutions that are working to find solutions to cure and/or treat this family of diseases.
Please support me as I support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation in a work that has become markedly personal for my friends, me, and my own family in just a matter of a few weeks...
