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| October 29th 2014, Earth Treks |
One of my really good friends, Lori
Nam, has fallen very ill from her cancer. She lives down the block from
my office. We went to lunches together and were rock climbing buddies.
I'm still in shock at how quickly she's deteriorated from the diagnosis of her second relapse last Fall. I was just
climbing with her the week of New Year's and now she can hardly talk without getting out of breath. It's very hard to see a friend
go through so much pain and emotional turmoil. I wish I could take her pain away and give her a cure but I can't. All I can do is support her and spread the word about her
disease and mission.
I can't describe her and her story
any better than the leader of her Lori Strong campaign, Swab and Save Someone
(SASS):
When
anyone meets Lori for the first time, you are compelled to either fight with
her or for her. Lori, a DMV resident, is the most unique balance of infectious
energy and genuine modesty baked into an all-around beautiful young woman. In
2009, just a year after getting married to the love of her life, Lori, 29, was
diagnosed for the first time with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL). Since then,
over the course of five years, Lori has survived two grueling bouts with the
cancer and sent it into remission each time. What a beast! This isn’t out of
character for Lori, a veteran crossfitter, because she’s a tough-as-nails
warrior as much as she is a humble soul.
However,
cancer sometimes doesn’t care how many wins you claim with treatment and for an
unlucky few it can eventually break down its opponents. Unfortunately for Lori,
this is the exact setting for what could be her final round with NHL.
Currently, diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, the chemo and related treatments that
Lori has relied on in the past will now have no effect. Bone marrow
transplantation is all that’s left now and it’s do or die. Yes, die, as in
three months to live if she doesn’t have the transplant, and more importantly,
find a genetic match for the treatment. A genetic match means someone else, not
Lori, will decide if she lives. With all the guts that Lori has this is an
opportunity to join in that strength and help her fight for her life. If we
stopped with Lori, however, she wouldn’t forgive us, and neither could we. This
is why we’re rallying the bugle cry! We’re asking for donors, we’re building a
movement, and asking all our cancer warriors to unite as an unstoppable force.
Crowd sourcing against cancer is nothing new, but think of this email as a
simple call to action as much as we want it to be a disruptor for how
communities participate in the cancer fight.
You
know what’s the effective philanthropy? Donating your blood, sweat, and tears.
If tears unite us, sweat shapes us, then blood and more specifically bone
marrow will measure us. There are over 12,000 patients diagnosed with NHL this
year, and all 12,000 are waiting for donors.
There
are four ways you can help:
1)
Attend the massive Beat Cancer: Bone Marrow Registry Drive party:
George Mason University (Fairfax Campus) Johnston Center, 3rd Floor Meeting
Room D on February 24th-25th, 2015 from 10AM-9PMhttps://www.facebook.com/beatcancerforlorinam
2)
Get a Kit. Swab Your Spit and Commit! It can save a life!http://www.swabandsavesomeone.org/
3)
Register to become a Swabbee™ (we want their spit) or as an Official Swabber™
(Volunteer) - http://www.swabandsavesomeone.org/ and http://doodle.com/qtc6dgun3s28dw28
4)
Promote this event to any and all local media outlets, volunteer organizations
and commercial institutions you might have relationships with. Remember, any of
the above avenues of support can give Lori and others the best fighting chance.
Additionally,
to see Lori’s battle live and receive updates from this movement and future
Swabbings™ click on the link:
