Non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor, honored patient hero, Light The Night Walk Fundraiser, First Connection volunteer and Survivor mom extraordinaire, Christen Reilert is Giving and Getting. When you participate in Gap's Give and Get program, you're supporting people like Christen, who know the importan

Patient Story: Christen’s little miracle of hope

ce of funding life-saving cancer research.

Download your LLS coupon today and use it in any Gap, Old Navy, or Banana Republic store from March 18th -- 21st.

Give and Get with Gap and LLS this spring and take advantage of a 30% discount while you support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's work to cure cancer and improve the lives of patients.  Christen, we profiled you and your amazing story on an LLS Blog post last fall (see: Patient Story: Christen’s little miracle of hope). How are you doing?

I'm doing very well, thank you -- and so is my 'miracle of hope' Jaden!            

You were diagnosed as a Young Adult with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) -- how did you get through your treatment regimen?            

I credit my family and friends - but mostly my husband. When I lost my hair and went bald he told me every day how beautiful I was and how much he loved me. And I'm thankful for my Mom who went to every single treatment with me. That got me through!            

I'm going to ask you two questions that Gap is using in their Ready, Set Give and Get contest because we think you epitomize what it means to Give and Get. First, what have you done to make an impact on your community?            

The moment I was diagnosed with cancer I knew I had to survive and that became my entire focus. I had a very aggressive treatment that was very difficult at times but I always went in with a smile on my face. But I did survivie -- and as soon as I was well I knew I had to give back. I contacted LLS with the intention of becoming as involved with the mission as possible.            

Almost immediately, I began fundraising for the Light The Night Walk program, creating a team (Christy's "Cure"ators) that haa been in existence now for nearly eight years.            

Then I began volunteering for First Connection, that's LLS's peer to peer support program. My husband and I volunteer in other ways, as well -- and the folks at the local LLS chapter will tell you that I can always be counted on to speak at an LLS event!            

Now, what results have you seen -- and what impact has that made on your life?           

With every Light The Night Walk, every First Connection support group meeting I'm in contact with, every speaking event --- I'm reminded how powerful my story is and what a source of hope and inspiration it can provide to others. People come up to me all the time that I don't know, people who are in treatment or are caregivers for people in treatment and they thank me for sharing my story. Fundraisers thank me for sharing my story because I remind them that 'Cancer Survivors Have Miracles Too.' That's really become my mottoand the mantra for my life and the hope I want to share with others touched by cancer. The more I give back the more I'm aware of the importance of doing so -- just like Gap!            

What are your thoughts on Gap's Give and Get campaign and the fact that LLS is one of the benefactors!            

I think it's wonderful! It's great of Gap to recognize The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the hard work we put forth to find cures.            

It's funny because when I was in High School, my friends and I would only shop at Gap. A friend of mine used to say, "if you didn't shop at Gap, you just weren't cool.!" Now, as an adult I still shop at Gap and Old Navy and Banana Republic -- and spend most of my time now at Baby Gap for Jaden!            

Giving back has been huge for me. As soon as I became cancer free I was determined to do something to help others. You can give back too by supporting Gap's Give and Get campaign for LLS!                     

Download your LLS coupon today.  The Gap Give and Get Campaign benefiting LLS runs from March 18th -- 21st.

Download the LLS coupon to take advantage of the 30% discount available from all Gap, Inc. stores. Then share this post with your family, friends and social networking contacts. Give and Get with Gap and LLS and help save live

Earlier this month we let you know about the launch of a new fundraising campaign, Totally Baldacious, which was designed specifically to show love and solidarity for cancer patients while raising money for life-saving research. The response to this campaign has been terrific, thanks in great part to many of you who've posted comments on the Totally Baldacious Fan Page on Facebook, like this one:

"My son and daughter both shaved their heads in support of their sister after her diagnosis of AML in 2003 which scared their three-year-old niece (worried she'd have to do it too!). We all laugh about it now and the sense of support was so strong! She is 6 years past transplant now and has a huge head of hair! Love this campaign. Love in action!" --Lori Robin Wilson

Showing our love is what it's all about and our President and CEO, John Walter, is leading the charge! Last week our John announced his participation in the campaign -- with a bold fundraising goal of $50,000!  (Note: As of 2/25 John is 33% of the way there.)

You can help John reach his goal by donating to his campaign today!  Donate to show your solidarity with those currently undergoing treatment.

Your contribution will promote advances in treatment that will allow cancer patients to live better, longer lives.   Then visit the @LLS Blog on the 24th to see pics and a video of John 'shaving one for the team.'

Show your baldacious support by making a contribution today

2/23 UPDATE:

Victory in Iowa! Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia now require insurance companies to cover routine care costs for patients enrolled in a cancer clinical trial!  Today, Tuesday, February 23, blood cancer volunteers from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Iowa Chapter witnessed Iowa Governor Chet Culver sign House File 2075 into law, officially requiring this coverage for cancer patients in Iowa.  The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society would like to thank the bill’s champions, Reps. Janet Peterson, Tyler Olson and Doug Struyk and Sen. Joe Bolkcom, and Gov. Culver for their support of this vital issue!

Today, Wednesday, February 17, blood cancer volunteers from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Iowa chapter will travel to Des Moines and thank their elected officials for passing legislation that will require insurers in Iowa to cover routine care costs for patients enrolled in a clinical trial.  Volunteers will also be presenting our champions – Reps. Janet Peterson, Tyler Olson and Doug Struyk and Sen. Joe Bolkcom – with awards thanking them for their support of this bill.  But just because you were not able to make the trip to the Capitol building doesn’t mean you can’t still join in the excitement of Iowa’s State Mission Day!

For Iowans, there are two ways that you can still participate in the day: 1) Please visit LLS’s Legislative Action Center and send a pre-drafted email to your representatives thanking them for passing House File 2075 unanimously in both the Iowa House and Senate, and 2) you can follow the day online. We will be posting updates, volunteer feedback, photos and video right here on the @LLS Blog and through LLS pages on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

So check in from time-to-time and be a part of Iowa’s 2010 State Mission Day!

ttp://www.totallybaldacious.org

Today at John Allan's in Midtown Manhattan, 12 year NFL veteran Terry Cousin and his pro football colleagues Sheldon Brown and Jyles Tucker will be going Totally Baldacious to show their solidarity for cancer patients and to raise awareness about the importance of funding life-saving cancer research.

Each have registered on www.totallybaldacious.org, where you can donate or use the Be Baldacious widget to share with your friends. Whether you decide to fundraise for Totally Baldacious, donate, or promote the campaign, you'll be making a difference in the lives of cancer patients.

Updated:

The before picture: Check out Cousin, Brown and Tucker in front of John Allan's Salon in NYC!

And here's the 'after' shot:

For a complete series of pics -- see the Totally Baldacious Fan Page on Facebook!

Be inspired by Terry and his Team, sign up to fundraise at www.totallybaldacious.org, donate to fund life-saving cancer research or just use the Be Baldacious widget/Facebook App to help raise awareness about this important campaign. Do something Totally Baldacious today - you'll be glad you did!

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who participated in this campaign! The results are in and because of you, more than $650,000 was raised for life-saving cancer resarch. Thanks for shopping!

Jennifer Donnelly is the mother of Matthew, an acute lymphocytic leukemia patient who's story is featured in the Gap Give & Get Campaign.  Gap Give & Get gives you a 30% off coupon to shop at all Gap, Inc. store, with 5% of the proceeds going to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Jennifer shared her story with LLS:

How did you find out that Matthew had leukemia?

Matthew was diagnosed on December 11th, 2007, when he was two and a half years old. He hadn't been feeling well and our regular doctor thought he had a double ear infection. In fact he did have a double ear infection, but thankfully our doctor also had blood work done on Matthew, which ultimately determined that he had acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).  It was devastating at the time, but in hindsight we were glad he was diagnosed early on.

Before Matthew's diagnosis, had you ever heard of leukemia?

To be honest, no -- but I learned very quickly.  I also found a huge support group of people out there who are willing to help.

How has LLS been helpful to you and Matthew?

We participate in LLS's finanicial aid program and have also participated in The Light The Night Walk twice.  Matthew was also recently named the 'Boy of the Year' for the local LLS chapter here on Long Island.

Your son has an amazing smile.  He looks like he has a very positive outlook.

He does!  When he was first diagnosed, going to see the doctors so often was difficult and I would try a number of things to make it a positive experience - like dressing up in costumes. Well now, Matthew actually looks forward to going! Once when we were on vacation in Disneyland, he surprised me with "Lets go to the clinic, Mom!"   There we were, in the "happiest place on earth" and he wants to go to the clinic!

How is Matthew doing now?

Matthew's doing very well. He's in the second year of his treatment, which will continue through 2011.  We are participating in a trial.

A clinical trial?

Yes, again, before Matthew had been diagnosed, I didn't realize how important clinical trials could be to treatment options.  I found out as much as I could in advance, especially about the protocol that was suggested for Matthew.  Now, I think of all of the people who participated in trials before us and I'm grateful.  If they hadn't, I wonder where we'd be now.  Thanks to previous trials and the people who participated in them, treatments have improved.

Have you participated in any previous Give & Get campaign?

We participated in both the spring and summer campaigns.  A coupon was forwarded to me via email.  The 30% discount is terrific and knowing 5% of the sale goes back to LLS - even better!

Now, when I know of a business, like Gap, that gives back to LLS -- I think, "They're doing this for research, they're doing this for cures, and they're doing this for my son."  It makes me want to cry because I know the true benefit of this kind of support.

Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your story with us and allowing us to feature Matthew in this campaign.

Steelers Defensive End, #91, Aaron Smith, was joined by the entire defensive line, more than a dozen players and their families, to make up Team Elijah in this year's Light The Night Walk.   The team was formed in honor of Smith's six-year-old son, Elijah, who was diagnosed with leukemia last year.

Thanks to our colleagues at Gap and our friends online, our summer Give and Get campaign promotion was another success! Because of you and your efforts sharing this promotion online, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will receive nearly $500 thousand to support our life-saving research to find a cure for blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma. That's an amazing accomplishment for one weekend worth of shopping at Gap, Inc. stores!

As you noticed during the launch of this campaign, we featured Lance Bigelow (see our launch blog post, Lick Leukemia with LLS and Gap), who is living proof that the research we fund has a direct impact on patients. 60 years ago, when LLS was founded, a blood cancer diagnosis was almost always fatal. Since that time, the nearly $1 billion dollars we have invested in innovative research has helped to increase survival rates of some blood cancers by double or even triple. In fact, blood cancer survival rates rose by as much as four-fold from 1960 to 2000.

All of that was possible thanks to partners like the Gap and people like you - who either directly participated  in our fundraising efforts or helped spread the word. Your support makes a difference.

Thank you for helping us serve our mission to find a cure for all blood cancers and help patients and their families live better, longer lives.

One of the things that we love about our events is how they enable people to meet others working towards the same goals –trying to help end blood cancers, and having fun while doing it. Every once in a while we hear about a story of how one of our programs has been instrumental in helping people develop an important personal relationship, and I think that following deserves some retelling

Michelle Fried has a long history with our National Capital Area chapter (NCA). As a volunteer, participant and Board of Trustees president, Michelle has been a dedicated supporter of LLS for many years.

Because of her passion and well-rounded experience with LLS, Michelle was chosen as an ambassador-of-sorts to help encourage participation in LLS events.  Last year, this role brought her face-to-face with Jim Galvanek, a 10-year leukemia survivor.  Not only did this meeting lead to Jim being named NCA’s 2008 Man of the Year, but eventually, to an unexpected romance.

The two amazing volunteers quickly became good friends.  Their friendship turned into a lasting connection.

This summer, The Light The Night Walk Kick-off was held at National Stadium, home of the Washington Nationals, just before the start of a game. Along with about 500 other people, Jim and Michelle were there showing their support for LLS.  Jim led Michelle to the stadium rooftop, as the game began so the couple could get a bird’s eye view of the field. It was up there that they shared a private moment together and Jim asked her to marry him.

After sharing the news with friends and volunteers alike, the two enjoyed a few innings.  Soon after, the Jumbotron lit up naming Jim and Michelle "Fans of the Game.”

The NCA Deputy Executive Director, one of the lucky people to see these two lovebirds' relationship evolve, said that it has been really sweet to watch two good friends and amazing volunteers make a lasting connection and remember how LLS has been instrumental in their relationship.

Michelle and Jim have not only found each other, but they have also given much of their personal time to LLS – something for which we at LLS are grateful for every day.