We hope this posting finds you and your loved ones doing well. Unfortunately, most of us are close to someone who is battling or has battled cancer of some kind. Today is our Honored Hero, Vivian's birthday. She turned a wonderful 78 years young today. We celebrate life with her today. Vivian has been Ginger's step mom for 36 years now. She is an amazing woman, wife, mother, grandmother, fighter and friend who has been fighting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for going on 9 years now.
It was 9 years ago Vivian went into surgery for Diverticulitis surgery that she had been suffering from for some time. When she awoke from surgery she was told the doctor discovered the lymph nodes in her small intestine had stage 3 & 4 cancer. It was tested to be non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She immediately went for more testing: cat scans, Pet scans, etc. Within a month she started chemo and became extremely ill. Her hair fell out but that didn't bother her, she prefers to wear it very short now. Along with the chemo she was given Rituxan. A drug that only works if your cancer has a certain protein. Her's did and she feels it really helped along with the many prayers. She is enjoying going on 8 years of remission now. She walks daily and goes to the gym to work out. She loves the reclining bike best and does 3 miles, along with weights and other machines. She inspires us and encourages us to stay fit and healthy. We love you Mom. You are our HERO!
Many thanks for those who have helped us reach 69% of our goal. We have $945.00 left to raise and only a few weeks to do it. Please consider giving in honor of your heros, those who are battling or have battled cancer.
Here is something that is happening with LLS right now. There is a lot going on in blood cancers. Beyond the JAK2 kinase mutations that have been found in MPNs and are being studied as targets in my lab and others around the world, recent breakthroughs include the discovery of mutations in the Raf kinase enzyme in 100% of patients with hairy cell leukemia. This finding will surely lead to clinical trials, since Raf inhibitors are already in development for other cancers with such mutations. Another exciting development is antibodies directed against the so-called CD30 antigen, which is expressed on the surface of some lymphoma cells. Response rates in patients who failed all previous therapies were in the 80-90% range, which is quite incredible. This antibody will make a clinical difference, no doubt.
Thank you so much for giving and praying,
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