MaryEllen

Age: 55
Spouse: Suzanne
Type of illness: Hodgkins' Lymphoma
20+ years survival

In June of 1978 I was diagnosed with Stage IVB Hodgkin's Disease. I had no idea what Hodgkin's Disease was, but the doctor was sobbing as he gave me the news, so I figured that pretty soon I'd be crying, too.

Funny how everything can change in a heartbeat. A million cliches: numbness, disbelief, a bottomless pit, the earth crumbling, a bad dream... every one of them trite but true. The prognosis was not hopeful. Some days Suzanne and I just held each other and cried.

At that time, in that place, people were not very open about cancer. Many who had it, hid it, worried about keeping their jobs, their friendships, their own sense of dignity. Terrified of impending chemotherapy, I was desperate to talk to another patient, someone who had been through it. There were no support groups then, and no doctor could put me in touch with other patients.

One evening on the bus I noticed a young man with the telltale peachfuzz head and skimpy eyebrows. I scribbled my phone number on a scrap of paper and asked him to call me. The phone rang a few minutes after I got home and that night, with a person I had only glimpsed once, I had the most intimate and electrifying conversation of my life. If you have ever wondered whether one person can make a difference, the answer is yes, yes, yes!

Each and every one of you is making that difference. I am in awe of your commitment to your training and fundraising goals, and the enormous system of services the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provides for patients and their families. I am in awe of the loving and supportive community that you have created. Awed and grateful. So grateful, for the help and hope you give to people dealing with the devastating diagnosis of cancer.

You have no idea how many ways you can touch the life of a perfect stranger.

P.S. I was treated in Boston with chemotherapy and radiation. A year and a half later, after moving to California, I had a recurrence, different chemo, then remission. Suzanne was always there to give me strength when I had none. On February 19, 2004, after 29 years together, Suzanne and I were married at San Francisco City Hall. Now, with heart failure and pulmonary disease as longterm side effects of my treatments, my life has become a little smaller, but no less wonderful.

The End. Well, not literally, not yet.