Twenty-four minutes… What does twenty-four minutes mean to you?
Is it the time you take for your regular morning run before you start your busy day? Maybe it’s your time of commute to get to your place of work, where you get the chance to catch up with an old friend? For others, perhaps it’s the time you get to spend cuddled with a loved one, relaxing to your favorite sitcom at the end of a hectic week. Whatever it may be, twenty-four minutes can make all the difference in someone’s day. However, for far too many people, twenty-four minutes can also become the sudden difference between being healthy one minute and receiving a life-altering diagnosis the next.
Every twenty-four minutes, someone in Canada is diagnosed with a blood cancer. No, you did not misread that. EVERY TWENTY-FOUR MINUTES. Unfortunately, there are over 155,000 Canadiens who are currently living with or are in remission from some form of blood cancer. So, with that noted, how soon, if not already, will someone that YOU care about become another number in this terrible statistic? Will it be your neighbor? Will it be your loved one? Will it be your closest friend?
My name is Ryan Saxe. I am 33 years old, and luckily, have never been diagnosed with any form of blood cancer. However, throughout my life, I have unfortunately witnessed far too many people that have. People that I care about, people which I thought were once invincible, sadly also became victims to this horrible disease. Just to name a few, in 2010, I tragically lost my loving grandfather, (Zaide), at the age of 71 after his long fight with cancer, which eventually metastasized to his brain. in 2011, I supported my strongest cousin go through a long and difficult battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, until he thankfully made it to remission. In 2015, I watched helplessly as my incredibly healthy mom underwent numerous rounds of radiation to eliminate all remnants of breast cancer from her body. And more recently, in 2022, one of my closest friends picked up the phone to call me, to tell me that he had been battling his own case of blood cancer, in complete secrecy, to not burden his family or friends, until he too was finally in remission.
These inspiring people, amongst many incredible others are my inspiration and reason for becoming a candidate for the LLSC 2024 Visionary of the Year campaign. For 10 weeks, with the help of my amazing team members and the thoughtful collaboration of the enthusiastic staff at the LLSC, our mission is simple; to raise awareness and as much money as humanly possible to help fund lifesaving research, critical programs, and important services for all blood cancer patients across the nation.
But we cannot do this alone. That is why we are asking for everyone to join our fight against this horrible disease. In honor of all blood cancer patients and survivors, please share this link, spread awareness about our cause and donate whatever you possibly can, so that we can make a life-changing difference for so many Canadians.
Together, let’s change the statistic. But hurry, the clock is ticking.