It's been awhile since I've written but I did something today that I think is worth writing about.

Carolyn, da boys and I have been at Lake Tahoe for the past couple of weeks to kickoff the start of our summer vacation. Two weeks ago Sunday, Carolyn rode her bicycle along with 1500 of her closest Team in Training teammates to help raise $7,000,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, WOW! Thank you all who donated to our favorite charity and for your continued support of all who benefit from this wonderful organization, including me. We will not stop this fightuntil we find a cure.

For many years, one of the things I've always enjoyed doing up here at the Lake is ride my bike. Every year I would look forward to test myself to see what kind of shape I'm in by riding from our house at lake level (el. 6200') to the summit of Mount Rose (el. 8900') on the way to Reno, a climb of 10 miles, nothing but up. If you've driven this road, you know what I mean.

At the start of summer 2006, I was barely able to make it up our driveway. I thought, "What the heck is going on? Must be getting old, must be the altitude." What I didn't realize at the time was that this was the start of a rapid downward spiral. As you know, a month later I was diagnosed with Leukemia which eventually led to a Bone Marrow Transplant in January of 2007.

I want to begin by thanking each and every person across the country that supported this campaign and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  To let everyone know, the campaign officially ended on June 5^th with a record breaking campaign.  Last year the total raised was approximately 350K, this year this campaign raised $803,000.00!!!!! It was a tremendous effort to support this organization; an organization that is tireless about funding research and assisting patients, it is truly amazing.

The Heme team raised $65K, an amazing amount of money which truly surpassed my expectations.  Carolyn Balling, a Hike Coach for the Team in Training Program, won the title of Woman of the Year raising 67K.

The Heme Team Campaign really had nothing to do with me, it was not about me…this campaign was completely fueled by the love and energy of so many patients past and present and families who have lived with and died from blood cancers. To give patients and families a voice and a platform to tell their powerful stories and to raise money for an organization that is so close to my heart because it directly impacts the lives of patients who struggle with these illnesses.  To say this was humbling and overwhelming is an understatement.  I had the support of UCSF Medical Center and the support of the physicians, nurses and staff in the Hematology/BMT Program and this campaign brought lots of people together in such a positive way with such a wonderful enthusiasm to be a part of a team and part of something special. Patients spoke at our events and really connected people to the mission of the LLS and the mission of those of us in medicine who work in this amazing field and are so privileged to care for these amazing people.

I would like to Thank the following people and believe me my words are not adequate:

Peter & Tina Locke.  Peter & Tina are true examples of making lemonade from lemons and teaching us all by example what true grace, spirit and generosity look like.  After struggling through Leukemia and a bone marrow transplant that has not always been a smooth road, they smile, do not trip over the small stuff and have enriched all of our lives in our clinic.  Peter was my biggest cheerleader, most generous sponsor and even rallied his friends to donate unbelievable sums of money to support this cause. I do not have the words to truly express my gratitude and admiration of these 2 magnificent people.  The best part…Peter is here and just celebrated his 65^th birthday, accompanied his wife to Paris, cheered his daughter Christie on for her TNT triathlon and will meet his bone marrow donor in a few weeks…for me personally it just doesn’t get better than that.

David Miniat, Miniat Inc., Amy & Charlie Nalon, Sara & Stacy Huels and Ron Miniat. There is no place like home and the generous support of my family in Chicago, Il.  The unwavering generosity of my cousins and their company to help support this organization was really heartwarming and overwhelming.  Along with Peter & Tina, they were the biggest sponsors of this campaign and these patients and I feel so incredibly blessed and grateful to come from a family that just opens their arms and hearts wide to support others.  Thank you David, Amy, Sara and Ron for always being there and for such generous support of this organization. You have made a huge difference in the lives of so many people.

THE HEME TEAM: My dear friends and my adorable son who without hesitation put much of their own lives on hold for the last 10 weeks to support this campaign and these patients.  Who are always there no matter what, you are truly the best team in the world and look what you have done 65K!!! Michelle, Dean, Diana, Jeff, Brittney, Michael, Lorraine, Katie, Julie, Adrienne, Archer and Ali.   YOU ROCK!!! Also the teenagers from Clayton Valley who washed cars, stuffed envelopes and were all around awesome...Jared, Austin, Nick, Nathan, Brittney, Sean, Drew, Alex and all the others…

The LLS TEAM: Julia Stanley, what an amazing campaign manager with such grace and professionalism and support. It was a true pleasure to work with you. Amber, Kara and of course Lindsay, Susan and Pat…to have you as not only colleagues but dear friends is a wonderful gift. 

All the patients who put their stories on our website, spoke at our events, attended our events, donated time, energy and love, especially Karen Koltonow, Stefanie Dugan-Lowe and Rosemary Gong.  A GIGANTIC thank you to Phil & Julie Frye for the tremendous support and liaison to BR Cohn Winery.  Also 4 Docs: Babis Andreadis, Caroline Behler, Wei Ai and Jeff Wolf and Willis Navarro for attending events, speaking and generously donating your time and money when you all give at the office EVERY day…you are why I have stayed at UCSF for 21 years…THANK YOU.

The following people and organizations gave their time, and money to support this campaign:

Rusty Wells of Urban Flow Yoga. Brendan Eliason of Periscope Cellars, Suzi Potts- Sip& Stretch, Bruce Cohn & BR Cohn Winery, Stephen & Trust Winery, Cyrus Reporter & Millenium, Dave Neff, Cheryl Pierson & McKesson, and Craig Andersen who never hesitates to say yes every time I ask him…thank you for your generous heart and my campaign mentor Jennifer Schatz. Thank you for all the proofreading, support and very practical advice, you were wonderful.

This has truly been an incredible experience and one that I will never forget.  The generosity of people, the team of people that came together, the spirit of love and support the connection to the cause and organization that is so close to my heart.  I asked you all to open your hearts and each of you said yes without hesitation.  I am truly honored, humbled and happy.

With Love,

Lisa

PS.  I am posting an e-mail Myland Hui sent today, he is a permanent honoree for me and his wife Carolyn is an amazing TNT participant raising so much money for the LLS.  His story sums up the reason we all work in this field, support this research and continue to be relentless for cures. 

Myland You are the truest inspiration. Maholo friend!!!

To all of you who have supported this campaign, I can’t begin to express my gratitude. It has meant so much to me, the Heme Team, the patients and researchers we are trying to support through the LLS.    The campaign will end on June 3…it is not too late to donate.  Due to great support we are extending our “Doobie Red” $10.00 online raffle until the campaign closes on June 3.  This is a limited edition 15 bottle case produced by BR Cohn Winery with a $500.00 value.  $10 could help cure blood cancer but also win a case of fantastic wine!!!

This is Memorial Day weekend.  People are making plans to get out of town, and in California even ski!!  This Memorial Day however, many people are remembering people they have lost …and many are from blood cancers. 

For those of you who were at the TNT Cause for Celebration in April, I told the story of Emily, a young mother who was searching for a donor. After 2 transplants and numerous chemotherapy regimens, her leukemia persisted.   She even went on television to recruit donors into the registry…unfortunately; Emily is losing her 5 year long battle with AML leukemia.  As I sat with her this week in clinic, she told me she knew her time was very short. She said, “Lisa I don’t know how to say thank you to you, I love you.”  After 21 years and many stories, I must tell you this does not get easier, but it does continue to keep all of us on the UCSF team and other programs throughout the country passionate and motivated to continue to find cures and treatments for these diseases and to support our patients.

This Memorial Day weekend, another one of my amazing patients will marry his sweetheart. The 3 of us have worked very hard to find a time in between treatments for them to have a wedding.    They will not have a honeymoon because he will have to admit to our hospital to receive a transplant from his sister to treat his Leukemia. 

The irony is that we also celebrated our patient reunion party last weekend, with a record turnout of patients, many 20+ years since their transplants. This too does not get old…celebrating the life of patients who were cured.  I can only hope that this number grows and more people are cured.  At this celebration, the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Program at UCSF received the LLS Chairman’s Citation for Excellence.  Dr. Damon, our director, received this on behalf of our program. 

This Memorial Day what are you going to remember while you are celebrating a 3 day weekend?  For a moment, I ask you to think about the patients and families living with and dying from blood cancers.  I ask you to keep in your thoughts the people training for amazing endurance events with TNT to raise money and awareness to help find cures.   I ask you to remember that Cancer, doctors, nurses and patients do not get the weekend off.

Please consider a small donation of any amount to help an organization who is there for patients and families during the worst time in their lives.

I thank you all for your support in helping us reach a HUGE goal and for taking the time to get to know some of my personal honorees.

Lisa  

May 13^th - Wine Tasting - At Periscope Wine Cellars in Oakland, 6pm-8pm. Evite Here

May 14^th - Yoga, Sip & Stretch - With Suzi Potts at the Marin Bay Club, Corte Madera, 6:30pm-8:30pm.  Yoga with wine tasting incorporated in the class.  We will have raffle prizes and it is for all levels. It will be a lot of fun!

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 8^th.  This Mother’s Day while spending time with your families and children please think about how many mom’s are battling blood cancers and other cancers.  How many mother’s are with their children while they are being treated for Leukemia and how many mother’s are no longer with their children to share mother’s day because they lost their battle with blood cancer.   I want to honor ALL mother’s, it is truly the hardest job in the world, but I would like to honor 2 special mother’s…Lisa…Lorenzo’s mom and Julie…Tony’s mom.

Lisa’s story is one of hope for her son Lorenzo. Lorenzo came to the US to go to college from Italy and was diagnosed with ALL.  Their story is chronicled beautifully in her letter but what I would like to share with you in the strength of this woman.  Never aggressive or angry,  her calm, strong resolve to advocate and care for her son while maintaining his dignity and spirit has really been something extraordinary to watch. This is not easy when your child is dealing with such a devastating illness and is a young adult of 20. She made it seem effortless, though I know it wasn’t.  Lorenzo and Lisa are leaving this week to return home to Italy and we are all hopeful that he will be well and resume his life, he is a beautiful young man with an amazing spirit and I embrace them both in their next step and celebrate a beautiful mother.

The next mother I would like to acknowledge is Julie, her son is Tony. Julie’s story is one of heartbreak and healing.  Tony had a long battle with Leukemia, many ups and downs but through every step, Julie was strong and by his side.  I grew close to her after many long hospital stays and long talks.  Even when she could see that some decisions he made might not be the best decisions, she supported him and helped in every way she could again maintaining a very difficult balance between being a mom of a young adult with a catastrophic illness. She never waivered in her strength and support for him no matter how tired, she was always there.   I remember celebrating Tony’s  beautiful wedding at Julie’s home and then going to his funeral not long after that.  The grief that a mother has at the loss of her child …it is really indescribable.  But life does go on and I know she finds tremendous joy in her grandchildren and family. She has been an incredible support to this campaign and I am so grateful.  Tony was an amazing person with a very strong, positive attitude.  Knowing Julie, you can see where he got it; an amazing mother who is able to smile through unbearable pain and offer love and support to those around her. 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!  To Lisa and Julie and all the mom’s.

Love,

Lisa

We have several great events coming in May and we would LOVE to see you and your friends PLEASE  join us.

1. May 13, Periscope Wine Cellars 6pm-8pm, Wine Tasting.  Jeffrey Wolf, MD will be there along with some amazing honorees to thank you personally and connect you to our mission. 
2. May 14, YOGA, SIP & STRETCH, with Suzi Potts at the Marin Bay Club, Corte Madera.  This event has a lot of interest and will sell out!!!  Space is limited so reserve yours.  Yoga with wine tasting incorporated in the class.  We will have raffle prizes and it is for all levels. It will be a lot of fun!
3. May 15^th, Car Wash at Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Concord. 10am-3pm.  BHS, Clayton Valley & Concord High school kids are getting up early to do what they can to help raise money for cancer!! Please stop by and let them wash your car.

This week, please make plans and arrangements  to join one of our events in May!!!  Yoga is not just for the girls so don’t be shy!!!  The details are posted under the events section of the website.   For the Yoga & Periscope events, please send an e-mail to lisaforthecure@gmail.com to let us know you are joining us. It will be important to reserve your space. 

Remember this is not about me, it is about the patients.  As tired as we are, remember it is not even close to how tired they are enduring long hospitalizations and treatments.  Come and show your support.

I knew Brenda as her transplant coordinator.  It is a very intense relationship when you are working to get a patient and family prepared for such a huge medical procedure.  What struck me about her was how amazingly positive she was. She was already a full cult member of TNT and had a HUGE entourage and support system.  Believe me; I am saying this with great affection and humor.  It was a tremendous amount of work to try to manage the confines of her treatment with her tremendous social calendar, much of her calendar involving TNT.  TNT gave Brenda a focus and a support system when she needed it most. It gave her an outlet to encourage and inspire people and to heal.  With all of that however the thing that was the most overwhelming thing to me about Brenda was not about how she lived her life but how she accepted and handled her death. I have never seen someone so young and so full of life handle an imminent death with such amazing light, humor, grace and true acceptance.