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Click here to make a
donation to LRF and
support Wendy's Eagles
How
can you support Wendy’s
Eagles?
-
Cheer us on and help
spread the word
about Wendy's Eagles
(phone, mail, email,
blog, Twitter)
-
Raise donations from
friends, family,
coworkers
-
Donate to Wendy’s
Eagles. (Every
dollar counts).
What
is the “flag of ribbons”
that I carry during the
walk and keep forever
after?
-
For every $25
donation
in honor of
someone, I make a
silver ribbon with
his or her name on
it for the flag of
names that will be
carried throughout
the walk.
-
For every $25
donation
in memory of
someone, I make a
gold ribbon with his
or her name on it
for the flag of
names that will be
carried throughout
the walk.
What
if you donate $250?
(photo by
Suzanne Demaree)
Lymphoma
Research Saved my Life.
In 2004, I learned that
the Dallas chapter of
the Lymphoma Research
Foundation (LRF) was
going to host its
inaugural Lymphomathon—a
5K walk to benefit the
LRF. So I pulled
together a small team
and encouraged my
then-14-year-old son,
Will, to participate.
I confess to having had
an ulterior motive: I
was hoping to use the
event as another way to
teach Will about
survivorship, the value
of research, and the joy
of helping others. Will
named our team
Wendy’s Eagles (WE)
in honor of his
Richardson High School
mascot. We had a grand
time “soaring for a
cure.”
The next spring, my
then-17-year-old middle
child, Jessie, joined us
for the second walk. The
Lymphomathon became an
annual event for us.
When we signed up for
the 2007 Lymphomathon,
we billed it as "Wendy's
Eagles' final flight.”
Will was heading off to
college soon after the
walk, and I was still
dealing with chronic
treatment-related energy
limitations. I couldn’t
do it by myself. Wanting
to go out with a bang,
WE gave it our
all and raised a
whopping $15,812.80.
As New Year’s 2008
approached, I received
some unexpected calls
from Will and Jessie:
“When are we getting
started for the 2008
Lymphomathon?” I
reminded them that
Wendy’s Eagles had
retired. Each of them
said the same thing:
“Fine, Mom. You don’t
have to do it. But
we’re rounding up
students on campus to
come to Dallas and walk
with Wendy’s Eagles!”
I asked myself: “How can
I have my children
hosting this team
without me?” I may be
done teaching my
children, now that they
are out of the house.
But I’ll never be done
trying to give back for
the research that saved
my life.
I’ll never forget that
in 1993, after my
lymphoma recurred a
second time—the first
time after chemo; the
second time after
radiation—my long-term
prognosis was terrible.
I’ll never forget the
difficulty of making the
decision to enter a
Phase I trial of IDEC
C2B8, a novel monoclonal
antibody. Or how, over
the next four years, I
received the
experimental drug in
three different clinical
trials.
Most importantly, I
remember how by the time
my cancer recurred a
sixth time, in 1998, the
trial drug was FDA
approved and marketed as
Rituxan. How this drug
became standard therapy
for many types of
lymphoma. How I received
it for a fifth time from
November 2005 through
November 2007 for my
most recent recurrence,
and how well it worked
for me.
Although my cancer is in
remission right now, I
know it may come back
again. And next time, my
lymphoma may be
resistant to Rituxan. No
matter what happens with
me, thousands of other
lymphoma survivors need
better treatments than
those that are available
now. The textbooks still
say my type of lymphoma
is incurable. The
textbooks are wrong:
My type of
cancer is not incurable;
It’s one of the types
for which researchers
are still searching for
a cure.
Read
about what the
Lymphomathon means to me
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