This is what hope looks like.

It may not look like much to you....until you learn who gave it, how it was given, and who received it.

You've no doubt heard of stem cells being used to treat a variety of diseases, especially cancer. These days, most stem cells are obtained through lines placed in the veins of our donors, then run through a special machine which selects the stem cells and returns the remaining blood to the donor. We can also use umbilical stem cells (obtained from the placenta after the baby has been born). And then we also occasionally use cells obtained from the donor's bone marrow while he is under general anesthesia.

The photo you see above was taken during an infusion of stem cells. That precious drop of red stuff you see is teeming with stem cells. The little bag you see contained more than 1,000,000 stem cells... cells which, in this case, are filled with love. Because this is what one family is relying on... along with their strong faith in God... to bring about a cure. One man sharing hope with another through the gift of bone marrow which is packed with cells to help his brother regain his health.

Mom, wife, recipient, and donor

This family is typical of those helped by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). And research funded by the LLS is used to develop cures for blood cancers as well as treatments to improved the quality of life of patients such as these. I've spoken about the work of the LLS in a couple of posts recently. (See here and here.) They've got a fundraiser going on for just a few more weeks. I'd like to ask you to consider donating to support the great work they do. Please click here and donate. I would appreciate it, and so would the folks pictured here.

PS - if you're a stem cell transplant survivor, here are a site you might want to investigate: Bone Marrow & Stem Cell Transplant Survivors Club (on Facebook). And know that I'm wishing you good health and a great life!

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The endless variety of orchids

 

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Spring has ((finally)) sprung!

Deciduous magnolia

My favorite camelia

Another camelia

Lenten rose (helleborus)

Lenten rose (helleborus)

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The fight continues!

Team Life Sabers

Three weeks ago, I posted a bit of information about the annual Man/Woman of the Year Campaign of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to raise funds for the battle against blood cancers. (See the original post here.) I am proud to be part of "Team Life Sabers" working with Stefanie Sarantopoulos, MD PhD to raise funds for LLS. In today's post, I want to tell you a bit more about Stef and the work she does. I am hoping that as you learn about Stefanie, you will consider supporting her campaign as well.

Jabba the Hutt joins us in the battle against blood cancers

First off, you may wonder about the origin of our team's name.

Stefanie's family and friends are also actively supporting our efforts, and her children made lots of origami Star Wars items to be worn by Stef and her team, and they've also loaned her their light sabers to serve as an emblem of what the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is trying to achieve: victory over cancer.

Stefanie is passionate about delivering quality care to her patients. Perhaps that explains why this couple came well over 1500 miles to receive treatment at Duke. They agreed to share their enthusiasm for Stefanie's work by appearing in this post so that you would be able to see someone who has benefited from her clinical expertise.

Nurses and CNAs prepare for a day of caring for our patients.

But although Stefanie has an active practice caring for patients being treated in Duke's Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Program, she is also actively involved in important clinical research. For although bone marrow and stem cell transplantation can be life-saving, it can also be life-altering.

Sometimes after a patient receives donor stem cells which successfully attack the cancer, the cells take their job a bit TOO seriously and begin to cause problems. In this situation, the patient can develop what we call graft versus host disease (GVHD).

Stef's lab goes to war against cancer and chronic GVHD.

In patients who develop GVHD, the donor's B lymphocytes begin to attack some of the patient's own tissues. Chronic GVHD symptoms range from dry, itchy eyes to stiff, inelastic skin, dry mouth, mouth sores, or perhaps chronic lung disease. Stefanie's work in the lab focuses on the prevention and cure of chronic graft versus host disease. Thus her focus is not only on curing cancer, but also on ensuring that patients have the best possible quality of life after transplant. Some of the work that she and her team perform in the lab is supported by grant money from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I hope that this post and my previous one can help to illustrate how many people serve critical roles in helping to conquer cancer. Physicians and nurses may be the first people you think of, but the research which goes on in the lab, the organizations that fund this research, and those who donate to support this work, are also vital. And of course no one is as important as our patients.

Photos of some of our transplant survivors line the walls of the clinic and inpatient area

Perhaps you will consider donating to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Simply click the button below. If you cannot give a monetary donation, please donate a bit of your time to pray for their efforts, to pray for all those suffering from cancer, and to forward this link to others.

On behalf of Stef, Team Life Sabers, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and myself, thank you!

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Dominica: a Caribbean jewel

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The walls of San Juan

One of the fascinating features of the old city of San Juan is the wall which once completely surrounded it. Spanish troops built forts in San Juan beginning in 1539 with a tower at El Morro and La Fortaleza. The majority of construction took place from the 1760's-1780's. Today it is still possible to walk between the two forts on a beautiful pathway overlooking the sea.

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Every 10 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies of a blood cancer... and you can help change that.

This is me... asking your help.

Dear Friends,

Many of you know that I have been a nurse in the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant (ABMT) Program for the past 16 years. I am extremely proud of the work we do. I have seen lives saved; indeed, I have seen patients return to our annual reunion more than 20 years after transplant sharing how blessed they feel to be able to celebrate another year of living.

A technician from our program prepares stem cells.

But today I want to share another sort of story: that of a woman in her mid-20's who discovered that she had cancer shortly after she and her husband had their first child. This woman went through repeated rounds of extremely tough chemotherapy, but her disease proved tougher than anything we could offer. I listened to her physician offer her three options. First, another round of very rigorous chemotherapy followed by 4-6 weeks in the hospital recovering; the doctor told her that she might have a 1-2% chance of attaining a remission and being able to proceed to transplant and, hopefully, a cure. Second, to go home and receive “gentler chemotherapy” in an attempt to suppress the growth of her cancer and to enable her to have some time with her family. Third, to receive home hospice services which would help her manage her symptoms in the home for the weeks or months she might have left.

This young woman may be able to beat the odds, but the odds are great indeed. So in her honor, I would like to ask you to help join with our team as we raise funds to support the work of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) by making a donation to our fundraising campaign for the LLS Woman of the Year. I am part of a team working to raise as much as possible in a 10-week period. Every dollar we raise counts as one vote and the candidate who gets the most votes/raises the most money is named the Man or Woman of the Year.

Stefanie Stephanopoulos, MD PhD

Dr. Stefanie Sarantopoulos is a valuable member of our ABMT team. She primarily focuses on the treatment of patients with leukemia and lymphoma. She also researches ways to improve outcomes following bone marrow and stem cell transplantation. She is energetic and energized… committed to helping us progress toward finding a cure for blood cancers. I would really like to see her win and be named LLS Woman of the Year. But more than that, I would like to see us gain victory over cancer.

Over the years, support from people like you has been responsible for the advancements that have doubled, tripled, and in some cases quadrupled the survival rate for some blood cancers. And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients, but are also now used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers. They are being studied in clinical trials for patients with lung, brain, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. In addition, LLS-funded drugs like targeted therapies and immunotherapies are now saving thousands of lives… lives like those of the young woman I mentioned earlier.

All donations are greatly appreciated and tax deductible. They will support LLS research as well as patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services. I hope you will join me in making a secure donation by clicking the "donate" button found at this link or by sending a check made payable to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at 401 Harrison Oaks Blvd, Suite 200, Cary NC 27513 by April 28, 2016. Please include Sue Roth - Team Life Sabers in the memo line of your check. Each donation made in this way will help our team progress toward our fundraising goal of $88,000. And please tell friends who would also like to donate – just send them to this link.

On behalf of myself and especially on behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support!

Love,

Sue

OH - P.S. - Donate to the campaign through this link to be eligible to win one of the following prizes:

First prize - a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com
Second prize - two 5x7" prints of any photographs which have been posted on my site... your choice!
Third prize - two 4x6" prints of any photographs which have been posted on my site... your choice!

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