My boyfriend, George, died of a malignant brain tumor 15 years ago. He was a physicist, and MIT graduate, a systems analyst and a software engineer. He cooked me delicious dinners, cleaned my house and read to me (we read to each other). He had a great sense of humor and a hearty laugh. He especially liked Polish jokes. He was half Polish. He was an exceptionally capable person, always ready to help and there to do. When he began to experience difficulty thinking, he didn’t know what was wrong with him. Neither did the doctors, until his landlord found him unconscious and he was taken to the hospital and they found the tumor. By then, it was too late. He lived in a nursing home his last months, surrounded by his loving family who brought in Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to celebrate with him.
George had the brain tumor while he was helping his sister and family move across country, and during her bout with lymphoma and stem cell replacement surgery. But he didn’t know he had the tumor then. His sister recovered and is living a normal life. About 20 years earlier, their father, retired from lifetime work in a Pittsburgh steel mill, died of cancer.
Emma discovered a lump in her breast when she was 84. She had a lumpectomy followed by radiology but no chemotherapy and recovered quite rapidly, to the doctor’s surprise, for someone her age.
My friend Martha who drove me to the store regularly this spring, after my car quit running, is married to a man who has a blood cancer. Paul is able to lead a normal life presently, but has to go to Johns Hopkins Medical Center for treatments periodically.
I received an email from Paul and Martha about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk, “finding better treatments and cures for blood cancers so patients can live better, longer lives”. The walk takes place October 22, rain or shine, in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for you who live in the greater Washington, D.C./Baltimore/Delaware area. Registration begins at 5 p.m. and Walk Opening Ceremonies begin at 7 p.m., at the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk, Village Improvement Association.
Here is the main link to the Light the Night homepage: http://www.lightthenight.org/.
Here is a link to Paul’s fundraising page, if you want to contribute:http://pages.lightthenight.org/de/Boardwlk11/PWagner. This is the link to Paul’s bio: http://www.lightthenight.org/de/localchapter/patients. And here is the link to Delaware Light the Night: http://www.lightthenight.org/de/.
The email letter goes on to say, “I’m asking you to help by making a tax-deductible contribution! Please use the link in this email to donate online quickly & securely. You will receive an email confirmation of your donation as soon as it is made. I thank you in advance for your support which will make a difference in the lives of thousands of patients battling blood cancers. ,,, Martha and I are also inviting you to join our walking team called Tern About Time. We are walking at the Rehoboth Beach Walk…”.
An important cause. Join in if you would.
–Samantha, September 28, 2011
For some reason the images no longer show here, but when you click on the question mark, it links to my books on Amazon.
