NMDP Names Ellen Lahiere:

Cancer Survivor For National Cancer Survivors Day

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) names Ellen Lahiere as the NMDP's 2000 Cancer Survivor as part of National Cancer Survivors Day, which will be held on Sunday, June 4, 2000.

For 10 years, Ellen endured ongoing cycles of remission and chemotherapy in her battle against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Then, in May 1996, Ellen's doctor decided her only hope was a marrow transplant.

Ellen almost decided against the transplant because the process seemed too painful and promised only a chance of long-term survival. When her grown son looked at her and said, "You're not going to leave me, are you, Mom?" she decided that a chance was much better than nothing, and began the search for a donor.

After testing her six siblings and three children, no matches were found. Ellen's doctor contacted the NMDP Registry and was fortunate to find a match. Ellen received her transplant in December 1996. Over the course of a few weeks after her transplant, she started to feel better. Eventually, Ellen was able to walk around the hospital with a nurse. She was determined to succeed and thrive. "I just remember those squares of tile on the floor. I would always go one more square after [the nurse] told me to stop," Ellen said. She continued to make a strong recovery. Today, Ellen is celebrating almost four years of survivorship. In 1998, Ellen and her family had the opportunity to thank the stranger who gave her a second chance at life when they met Ellen's donor, John, for the first time.

"Because this person was unselfish and gave me back life, I can enjoy all the daily things that I used to take for granted. It's wonderful just to have this day," Ellen said. The Lahiere family will always be grateful for the new life Ellen received. Ellen's daughter, Aimee Lahiere, was inspired by her mother's determination to survive. She decided to work at an NMDP donor center, Blood Assurance, Inc., in Chattanooga, Tennessee. "It thrills her to no end to deliver marrow," says Ellen. "Aimee knows what it means to the [recipient] family."