Welcome to Sharon Shelton's Fundraising Page
Welcome to my home page! Grab a cup of coffee and a muffin and sit a spell.....
For those of of you not familiar with my story, I'll start at....the beginning in 2001/2002 when I was first diagnosed with Diffused Large B-Cell (DLBC) Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL). After 3 rounds of chemo and 20+ radiation treatments I went into a nice remission of about 3 years.
In mid-2005, there was suddenly a "new lump" where there hadn't been one before. Surely after 3 years, it couldn't be a relapse, no? So I tried my best to ignore it but it didn't go away and in early 2006 I was diagnosed as relapsed with DLBC. But only 3 chemos and all was clear....but not for long.
A few months later, another relapse, another short round of chemo followed by 8 weekly treatments of an immunotherapy called Rituxan and yes! - remission was mine once more!!
As "unluck" would have it though, by April 2007 more lumps were appearing. This was getting frustrating!! These seemed "different" somehow and after biopsy it was confirmed that I had follicular NHL (fNHL) which is less agressive but definitely trickier to treat. Not much talk of "cure" with fNHL, but it's "treatable".
A few month's of chemo again and yes...you guessed it! Got the "all clear" on my scans and other tests and surely...THIS time....it would leave me alone and go "to sleep" for awhile! Ahh....but the story isn't finished...
I had a brief remission but then the little lumps were appearing again (dangit!!). But, I had been consulting with a great lymphoma specialist as well as regular visits and treatment with my local oncologist - and we make a pretty good team!
However, my mind and body were both very tired and run down by all the remission - relapse - chemo - remission cycles over the previous couple of years and thankfully, I was able to maintain for several months in 2008 using just a twice daily oral chemo but.... yep! I've relapsed again.
And that brings us to today and my now sixth battle with 'the beast' - as many of us not-so-fondly refer to our cancers. (Thus the name of my homepage - sixtimes). So what am I doing THIS time you may ask? I'm privileged to be a part of a clinical trial testing two protocols (a chemo plus a radioimmunotherapy - or "RIT") to see if the two acting together will bring a better response rate than either will on their own. Each protocol has been in use for awhile but the theory is by using the chemo first to reduce tumor mass, the RIT will have less to target and thus be more effective. Sounds like a plan to me!! <smile>
The RIT has been available just a few years but is showing remarkable results and much promise and some patients are still in remission after 5+ years! Clinical trials, RIT, Rituxan, and other drugs and therapies are bringing such hope to us folks suffering with Lymphoma, Leukemia, and other forms of cancer!!
So now the purpose of you having read through my "lymphoma life story" - FUNDRAISING!
Every day I am amazed at the progress made in blood cancer research. "One day", we'll know the markers that pre-dispose someone to leukemia or lymphoma and have vaccines that prevent it so no one has to suffer....but we need more research dollars! That's why I am an advocate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Did you know that:
I have set a goal of raising $600 by June 1st, 2009. That's 60 days to raise $600 (because I'm in my 6th battle with NHL!). I know times are hard for all of us - but with each person doing just a little .... $5, $10, $15... it can make a difference!! **UPDATE IN GOAL** Due to the ultra generosity of you and your family and friends...$600 was raised in less than 2 days! OMG - THANK YOU!! I've revised my goal now to $1600 (still have to have a 6 in it - good karma! lol)
Please make a donation to support my goal of providing support for LLS' amazing research activities, especially their emphasis on clinical trials. We must move these experimental drugs more quickly into the mainstream and to the bedside. Many drugs discovered by LLS are now utilized to treat 8 other forms of cancer, beyond blood cancers.
Cancer has touched each of us....if not being diagnosed personally, then thru the diagnosis of a family member, co-worker, church family member... Cancer knows NO distinction in age, race, gender, or socio-econmic level. It touches us ALL in one form or another!Making a contribution today, in ANY amount, will help save lives.
I hope you'll visit my homepage often to check in and see how my fundraising is going. Thanks for your support!
Love and hugs to all - let's kick some cancer butt together!!
<BIG SMILE>
Sharon
check out the LLS website at www.lls.org
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My Fundraising Progress and Status Report
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