How You Live

 

I. Love. Camp. I was born to be a camper. And when I out-grew the camper status, I became a counselor and have never missed an opportunity to eat smores and sing campfire songs!

You know what’s better than regular summer camp? Cancer camp!  It’s true… it’s so like being a kid again and enough TLC to last until next summer’s cancer camp.  

There are so many great programs out there for young adult cancer fighters and survivors (google is a fabulous thing). I just learned about another and wanted to share it with you: Camp Mak-A-Dream in Missoula, Montana. Like most cancer retreats and camps, it’s FREE and jam-packed with awesome activities, R&R, and incredible survivors…just like you.  And probably snacks and crafts.

The next Mak-A-Dream young adult camp is June 18-25.  Sign up quick!  

If you know about other camps/retreats, leave us a comment!

Happy Camping!

 

P.S. I also love the movie, Meatballs. Great camp movie. You won’t regret it.

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Recap: In 2007, I was diagnosed with Mediastinal Diffuse Large B-Cell Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. I was 23. [It's really just NHL, but I wanted to see if I could remember the whole name. And I did. Wahoo!]  And going back a bit further, my mom was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1992.  She was 28.  [no fancy name for hers. too bad, so sad.]  In 1995, my dad was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma when he was 35 and had a recurrence in 1997.  It’s true…three people in the one family with the same, non-hereditary, non-environmentally induced disease.  Just a fluke, supposedly.

Lymphoma is the number one cancer of young adults.  Boo.  And if that’s hard for you to believe, read paragraph one. 

As  you know, I love to tell you about organizations that are making an impact in the cancer community–specifically young adults.   The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is no exception.  In a nutshell:
“The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million in research specifically targeting blood cancers.”

They don’t only focus on the big picture (research and finding a cure), but they serve patients in a practical way.  For example, when I was going through treatment, the LLS sent me a reimbursement check (via the Co-Pay Assistance Program) for my out-of-pocket health insurance premiums for one year.  That was over $1000! 

Fast-forward to today, May 6, 2009: I am currently raising funds for the LLS by running in the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Fransico on October 18.  My mom and I are doing the race together through the Team in Training program.  Please consider supporting this amazing organization by contributing to our race campaign.

Donating is so easy! Just click here!  $5, $20, $100…whatever.  I’m prepared to nickle and dime this thing to the finish line!  Forward the link to my campaign website to anyone else in your world who might want to support this extremely worthy cause!  Big thanks.

You’re reading this blog and that means the world to me. Thank  you.

 

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/nikesf09/sconley