Selfie celebrating 10 years in remission and 11 years of Light The Night fundraising.
Anyone who knows me understands that arithmetic is not my strongest skill. While mulling over if I would post anything to celebrate my eleventh year in remission, it hit me that something wasn’t right. It turns out I’ve been celebrating the date I entered remission, not the anniversary of staying in it.
A few days before Christmas in 2013, I received the results that my PET scan done a month after finishing six rounds of R-EPOCH high-dose chemotherapy showed I was in remission. The scan done a year later, in 2014, showed that I remained in there, which I have for a decade.
I participated in Light The Night Manhattan in 2013 and each year after. Thanks to the generosity of everyone who has given, my team and I have raised over $28,000 to fight blood cancer!
Without LLS, I may not have survived. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Event funded one of the chemotherapy drugs that I received, Rituxan(Rituximab), to treat my large B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
That’s why I continue to raise money to fight blood cancer. If you’re looking for a cause for year-end giving, you can visit my fundraising page and donate as little as $5 online.
Thanks for your continued support. Have a happy and healthy New Year!
In December, I celebrated nine years in remission from large B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Thanks to my generous donors, my Light The Night team and I have raised over $25,000 to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society help fight blood cancer and save the lives of people like me. For more, visit https://pages.lls.org/ltn/nyc/manhattn22/JCaserto.
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic makes it especially important to celebrate good health.
MY REMISSION ANNIVERSARY IS A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS. On December 20, 2013, I received my first PET scan after finishing six rounds of R-EPOCH chemotherapy, and the results were normal. It was the gift I was hoping for and was ecstatic to receive. The chemo worked, and my large B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma was in remission, where it has remained ever since.
During this crisis, people battling cancer face the terrifying reality of getting treatment at hospitals filled with COVID patients. Paradoxically, to get better, they need to be where the risk of getting the virus is very high, while their immunity is deficient.
2020 is also the seventh year that I’m raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) through their Light The Night event. LLS has resources for patients, families, and caregivers during this unprecedented challenge.
Thank you to everyone who has given this year and in the past. If you haven’t donated and want to, time is running out! There are only two days left to help before the cutoff on December 31! Please visit my fundraising page to make your gift.
I wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2021 and thank you as always for your support.
I’VE COMPLETED ANOTHER TRIP AROUND THE SUN since my diagnosis in 2013 of large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. And what a trip it has been.
Along with everyone in NYC, I scrambled in early March as the Corona Virus started to spread exponentially. I kept remembering the saying, “This, too, shall pass.” Early in my treatment, I walked by a local restaurant and saw it written on the sidewalk chalkboard. It was an affirmation of hope and boosted my resilience.
I used the phrase and shared that I was a cancer survivor during my first Zoom session of the course I teach at Pace University to reassure my students. The class transitioned to remote learning in days, and many of my understandably anxious pupils had to pack up and leave campus. It must have felt like they were living in a sci-fi thriller. One had to find a flight home to Europe where the virus had already hit, and Italy was in lockdown. Another, from India, had no choice but to stay in the city. Others went to their homes within New York City and the metropolitan area where transmission rates were alarming.
I often reflected on counting off each of the 18 weeks of chemo and beyond. July became August, summer became autumn, and the holiday season approached. After chemo, the time between follow up scans and visits increased, and at my annual checkup last December, Dr. Raphael, my oncologist, told me that I didn’t need to come back anymore.
I wondered, too, what it must be like for all the cancer patients during the pandemic. I had to go to NYU Langone daily for five straight days of infusions, and, again, the day after finishing for an injection of Neulasta, a drug to boost my blood cell production because the chemo wiped out my immune system. That was challenging enough in normal times, much less during the chaos of a highly contagious virus, with patients lining the hospital’s hallways, where many would take their last breaths.
When I learned that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society developed a fund to help blood cancer patients impacted by COVID, and I kicked off my Light The Night fundraising early. Thanks to the generosity of so many, I have already raised over $2600. Please visit my page to learn more and donate online.
Yes, cancer did indeed pass, and COVID will, too. Meanwhile, we have the opportunity to learn what is important to us, how the human spirit can get us through challenging times, and how to savor life. Most importantly, it’s also ok and necessary to feel joy, despite it all, which is what surviving cancer has taught me.
I’ve set the goal of raising $1000 this month for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) via Light The Night, To celebrate my five year anniversary of being diagnosed with large B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Thanks to the generosity of our family and friends, since 2013, my team has raised over $17,000 to help fight blood cancer. In fact, Rituxin® (Rituximab), one of the life-saving chemo drugs that I received, was made possible through the help of LLS. Please click here to visit my fundraising page and give if you can to help me Light The Night. When we walk, cancer runs.
Bid on this holiday breakfast gift bag and help fight blood cancer!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and pancakes with real maple syrup are one of my favorite morning treats. This year, to help with my Light The Night fundraising, I’m using eBay to auction this holiday gift bag with fixings for a delicious comfort breakfast. All four food items are locally produced on NY State Farms.
All proceeds will be donated to my Light The Night fundraising, so this perfect holiday gift will double your joy of giving, or receiving if you treat yourself!
Buy my original holiday cards at Etsy and you’ll help fight blood cancer! This year, all the proceeds will go to my Light The Night fundraising to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Giving Tuesday Sale: On November 28, 2017, get 25% off with code GIVE2017!
Buy my original holiday cards at Etsy and you’ll help fight blood cancer! This year, all the proceeds will go to my Light The Night fundraising to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thanksgiving Week Sale: Get 25% if you spend $50 or more,now through Monday, November 27th!
On October 5, 2017, I participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Event in Manhattan, for the fourth year. Patients and survivors like me carried white lanterns during the evening, and I was honored to lead them all into the Survivors Circle, a powerful tribute where we celebrated our fight by raising our lights high to inspire those in treatment and cheer on everyone who beat blood cancer. Thanks to the generosity of everyone who has given, my team and I have raised $2,250 so far this year, and over $17,000 since I started participating.
Each person who has donated is a lifesaver, no matter the amount of their gift. To put it in context, $15,000 can fund:
3 months of studies of a patient’s response to a new therapy being tested. (Cost: $5000/month)
Almost two years of general lab supplies to help LLS-funded researchers conduct laboratory work needed for life-saving treatments. (Cost: $150/week)
Nearly one year of important one-on-one and group support for families dealing with the challenges of blood cancer treatment. (Cost: $300/week)
Donations can be made through the end of the year if you haven’t given, yet, and still want to. Click this link to go to my fundraising page and make your gift quickly and securely.
Thanks to everyone for your continued support. When we walk, cancer runs.
Once again, I’m raising money to fight blood cancer through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Event. No amount is too small, and giving is easy. Here are some tips for how to fund your gift:
Toss your pocket change in a jar for one month and count it up.
Collect deposit bottles and cans in a bin or box, and return them when it’s full.
Go through the charges on your most recent credit card statement, and record the amount to round each up to the next dollar. A $3.35 charge would take $0.65 to become $4.00. Do that for each charge and add it up to get the total amount of your donation.
Pledge to give a dollar a day in September, which would total $30.
