Most of you do not know that our son, Stephen, was stricken with lymphoma, a type of cancer when he was fifteen. Thankfully and with the help of good doctors, great medicine and a lot of prayer, he has been in remission for five years. (We are not bragging, just reporting as cancer can and does come back!)
He now is a senior at Michigan State University where he is majoring in microbiology with the intention of going to medical school and becoming a pediatric oncologist. The disease gave him a focus and he has been single minded in that direction since the time he heard those dreaded words "you have cancer."
Two years ago we created a foundation, Stephens Soldiers (http://stephenssoldiers.org) to raise attention to childhood cancer, to provide education on this dreaded disease, to support other patients and families of children with cancer and to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Rainbow Connection.
Providing scholarships to survivors has always been one of our goals and this year we added a corporate sponsor, Producers Choice, who has agreed to provide the funds for three scholarships for the next four years.
Should you know any child in the south east Michigan who is a childhood cancer survivor and is a senior in high school and is planning to go to college next fall or in college, please direct him or her to website (http://stephenssoldiers.org) for details and the application. The top prize is $5000.
Additionally, we are also raising money for our annual "Shave To Save" promotion. As we did last year, we are finding out who would love to see Tom shave his head and mustache. There are some who would like to see us bald and clean shaven and others will pay for it not to happen. You can join Tom's team by going to the website (http://stephenssoldiers.org) and under the top banner "Shave To Save", click to join Tom's team (or start your own) and help us by making a contribution. We will keep you posted as to how we are doing.
We are grateful for our good fortune and as part of giving back, we are trained parent advocates at the University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital. When needed we sit down with parents going through the terror of having their diagnosed with cancer. It is helpful to have someone who has been in your position to whom you can talk. It is small thing to do but rewarding for us.
Thank you in advance for helping kids with cancer. Please be generous, the money you give will get us closer to the cure.
Conservative Tom
P.S. A recent article in the Michigan State University paper, The State News, features our son and his work with other students who have had cancer.
For MSU's cancer survivors, the fight is personal
Fall is a busy time for social work senior Sarah Hoffman. She’s balancing her school work along with two jobs and an internship, all before graduating in the spring.
She’s also remembering the anniversary of the death of her best friend and boyfriend. They both passed away from brain cancer, a disease that has also taken some of Hoffman’s family members.
“I've gone through so much and I want people to understand how important cancer awareness and cancer research is,” Hoffman said.
In addition to her two jobs, internship and classes, Hoffman is also the president of Spartans Fighting Cancer, MSU’s chapter of the American Cancer Society’s Colleges Against Cancer nationwide program.
Cancer is something Hoffman has had to face since she was eight years old, when she was diagnosed with leukemia. After she left the hospital where she was being treated, she went to a camp for kids with cancer and met her now late boyfriend.
While many students were celebrating their first year at MSU, Hoffman was dealing with the death of her boyfriend, who passed away in October 2009. During her sophomore year, she discovered the club and became a member.
More than 10 members in Spartans Fighting Cancer are childhood cancer survivors.
This January will mark 14 years since Hoffman heard the words, “you have cancer” for the first time.
“Great New Year’s gift,” she said, laughing.
Hoffman keeps a positive attitude about her battles with the disease, and her experiences led her to a vocation. She said she wants to either become a hospital social worker, work for the American Cancer Society or Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Spartans Fighting Cancer has also made a positive impact on microbiology senior Stephen Vorenberg, who’s in charge of fundraising and sponsorship for the club.
“Once I joined I instantly wanted to do as much as I could,” Vorenberg said. “It’s been a great experience, I wish more people would get involved.”
After he was diagnosed with cancer at 15 years old, Vorenberg noticed how many survivors surrounded him. When he joined Spartans Fighting Cancer, his circle of friends who have survived the disease grew even more.
“Once you're exposed to something, you start to notice it more often,” Vorenberg said.
After his diagnosis, he gained a passion for bringing awareness to the disease and raising money for it.
“With cancer, everyone is in some way affected by it,” Vorenberg said. “No matter what, someone has felt cancer in a certain way. Someone has experienced it.”
The fall is a time for club members like Hoffman to remember the disease that 15,780 children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 will be diagnosed with, the National Cancer Institute estimates.
Members of Spartans Fighting Cancer left Sparticipation last week with 10 pages of paper filled with names of students who are interested in joining. The first meeting of the year had more than 30 people attend, and Hoffman is still receiving many emails from students wanting to join.
“This year we are going to get a ton of support,” Hoffman said.
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