Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.
Issue link: http://cancerfightersthrive.epubxp.com/i/259111
spring 2014 | cancer fighters thrive 5 cf thrive. com By Diana Price The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society W hen Stephanie Waxman was diagnosed with leukemia in June 2012, the then 31-year-old from San Francisco, who only months earlier had run the New York City Marathon, could not believe the diagnosis she was facing. "My entire world was turned upside down," Stephanie says. "I was told I had a very advanced and aggressive cancer and that I was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant." She also learned that she would require intensive chemotherapy treatment and full-body radiation and that she would lose her ability to have children. Confronting a cancer diagnosis like Stephanie received and processing all the issues related to treatment, side effects, fnancial impact and long-term recovery is a major challenge, to say the least. For Stephanie the process was made manage- able by the opportunity to connect with another survivor who had faced a simi- lar diagnosis through the Patti Robinson Kauffmann First Connection Program, a free service of The Leukemia & Lym- phoma Society (LLS). "After such a scary diagnosis, one of the frst voices that helped calm my fears was a call from my LLS First Connec- tion, Kelley. She had been through a very similar diagnosis, prognosis and treat- ment plan fve years prior and was now a healthy young woman getting ready to run her frst marathon," Stephanie says. "She described in detail everything that I would go through. This was the begin- ning of my understanding of what I was going to go through and my confdence that I too would get through this and be running marathons again." The First Connection Program, which matches trained volunteer survivors with newly diagnosed patients, is one of the many ways that LLS reaches out to patients and families affected by a blood cancer diagnosis. The world's largest vol- untary health agency, LLS is dedicated to fnding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers; to ensuring access to treatments; and to providing information and support for patients and families. The nearly $1 billion that LLS has invested in cancer research has been essential in many major breakthroughs in the treatment of blood cancers; and the organization's commitment to getting these treatments to patients as soon as possible, through its Therapy Acceleration Program, means that new therapies are moving from "bench to bedside" more quickly. In all the ways that LLS strives to meet patients' needs—from support to research—the organization plays a critical role in countless cancer journeys. For Stephanie, who not only benefted from the First Connection Program but also received support through LLS co-pay assistance and has been involved in the organization's Team In Training program, LLS has been essential in seeing her through every stage of treatment and recovery. "LLS felt like a friend we could depend on, when nothing made sense or when we felt alone," she says. "LLS has been by our side every step of this journey." For more information about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit lls.org or call LLS's Information Resource Center at 800-955-4572. Stephanie Waxman (second woman from right) and supporters ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT cftSp#23vky.indd 5 2/3/14 11:08 PM