Every day, people all over the world
are diagnosed with cancer.
In 2020, Judy, my aunt, joined that list. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, and has been in treatment at Roswell ever since.
During the early stages of her treatment, the regimen was always the same: spend every day for seven days straight at Roswell hooked up all day long to machines that delivered her life-saving chemotherapy. Then she would wait three weeks, then do it again. Seven more days.
On and on, no break to the pattern. It was exhausting and it was necessary. She's a fighter, so she fought. That meant doing a treatment that was in many ways as draining as the cancer itself.
But after two years, the routine seemed too much to bear At one point, she mentioned to her doctor that she was ready to give up, stop the treatment and just deal with the ramifications.
It was then that the doctor said "You know, there's this new medication--a pill--that was tested here and just approved by the FDA. Let's switch you to that."
And so she switched. No more week long stints or traveling back and forth each day. No more hours and hours hooked up to machines. She still makes a weekly visit to Roswell in order to get her blood tested. But due to the advances that were made through research and testing at Roswell, my aunt's quality of life improved dramatically.
Not only did this new treatment offer some relief, but the care and attention that she has consistently received at Roswell has been compassionate, attentive, and full of love. To hear my aunt talk in such glowing terms about the kindness of the nurses, the cheerfulness of the staff and the genuine connections she feels makes me grateful that this world-class facility is in her backyard. I know she is grateful as well.
This year, I am once again joining my dad and many other family members as part of the Fighting Irish Fighting Cancer team. We will ride together to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families. Families like ours.
Please consider making a donation today
to help treat current patients
and to find cures.
Together, we ALL can make a difference.
PLEASE NOTE: Many companies offer matching gift programs to encourage employees to contribute to charitable organizations. Some companies match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses. Most of these programs match contributions dollar for dollar, and some will even double or triple the amount of your gift! Please check with your company directly to see if it offers a matching gift program that will match your gift to Roswell Park Alliance Foundation.
