Cancer Survivor Day: June 2, 2002

Cancer Survivors Choose to Give Back

A few years ago, Leandra Argyros and Becky Christy were facing the possibility that tomorrow may never come. These days, Leandra and Becky are living life filled with smiles, laughter, joy and lots of hugs.

None of these life moments would be possible if it weren't for their courage, faith and determination at surviving and beating their disease. With the help of successful blood stem cell transplants facilitated by the National Marrow Donor Program^® (NMDP), and two strangers who saved their lives by donating healthy blood stem cells to them, Leandra and Becky plan to use their second chance at life by making a difference in the lives of others who must walk the same path they did.

Thirteen-year-old Leandra plans to use her second chance at life by saving lives just like her doctor at the NMDP transplant center in Boston's Dana Farber/Partners Cancer Care did for her. "When I grow up, I want to go to Harvard Medical School to become a pediatric hematologist," Leandra said. This past spring, Leandra, a gifted student who lives in New Port Richey, Fla., was inducted in the National Junior Honor Society. "When Leandra was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome at age 11, I thought I was going to lose her. Now, thanks to a successful transplant and her donor, Leandra is able to live her life and use her life to better the lives of others. I am so very proud of her," Connie Argyros, Leandra's mother, said.

For Becky, surviving her non-Hodgkins lymphoma meant giving back to others. "My successful transplant means everything to me. The transplant enabled me to continue raise my family," Becky said. When she turned 50, instead of birthday presents, Becky and her family asked guests at her birthday party to donate money to Iowa Marrow Donor Program, an NMDP donor center, so that more people could join the NMDP Registry. "I was fortunate to have a second chance at life. Hopefully, this will give someone else their second chance at life," she said. Becky has since returned to work as a busy language arts teacher in Iowa.

Created in 1986, the Minneapolis-based NMDP facilitates unrelated marrow and blood stem cell transplants for the treatment of leukemia and more than 70 other diseases through an extensive Network of national and international partners. By recruiting committed donors, maintaining the largest and most diverse Registry of potential volunteer donors in the world and offering patient services, at least 140 patients receive stem cell transplants through the NMDP each month. The NMDP's Registry contains more than 4.5 million volunteers and is the only one that searches all three sources of stem cells available: marrow, peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood. As of May 31, 2002, the NMDP has facilitated more than 13,000 transplants throughout the world.

For more information about blood stem cell transplantation or how you can help, call the NMDP at 1-800-MARROW-2.