Caring for a family member or friend with cancer who lives far away has its unique challenges. All of the usual caregiving concerns about a loved one's health and well-being may be intensified, since long-distance caregivers can't be physically present to provide care at all times.
I was caught up in a whirlwind when I found out that I had cancer on a Monday morning in October of 2011. I was admitted to the hospital that same day in preparation to have emergency surgery the next morning to remove the tumors and then found out I had GIST - all in a 24 hour period! I felt like my world had turned upside down and shortly after that during my recovery, I was lucky enough to find Life Raft.
About 80 GIST patients, relatives, GIST experts, interested professionals, physicians and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry gathered at the Restaurant Au Premier at Zurich Main Station in Zurich on April 8 for the ninth meeting of the Swiss GIST group. A warm welcome was extended to special guests Candy Heberlein, President of the Swiss Foundation for the Promotion of Bone Marrow Transplantation, and Christel Jäger-Freysoldt, chief executive of Das Lebenshaus in Germany.
Executive Director Norman Scherzer talks about the founding of the Life Raft Group and the importance of Gleevec in the fight against GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor).
Betty Hayes Arnett went to be with our Lord and Savior Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 at age 64, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was born Aug. 23, 1947 to Ruel and Mattie Hayes in Corsicana, Calif. She was a beloved mother, grandmother and wife. She was a longtime member of Missionary Baptist Church of Corsicana.
Twelve year GIST survivor and former harness driver, Bobby Kinsey, had two goals when he started planning “Harness a Cure” – to raise awareness about GIST and raise money to cure this disease. With over one hundred participants in the walk and donations continuing to arrive, Dover Down’s first Harness a Cure event to benefit the Life Raft Group’s research was a huge success thanks to Bobby who tells his fellow raftmates in the email community, “Keep Rowing.”
The main functions of the gastrointestinal tract are to secrete digestive juices, break down food components, absorb nutrients, reclaim water and excrete waste, which are performed by the mucosal lining of the gut...
In addition to sharing hope and friendship, attendees will learn important facts about their cancer, prevailing treatment options, tests as indicators for treatment surveillance, and coping with dietary changes and side-effects of treatment.
Jeroen Pit, who passed away on February 6, was not a man to sit idly by and he certainly did not lose his battle with GIST without a terrible fight. After diagnosis, Jeroen and his devoted wife Emilie, immediately sought after cutting-edge GIST research and came across the Life Raft Group.
GIST has had a profound impact on my life even though I am not a patient myself. My father, Mark Becker, bravely fought his battle with GIST for 12 years before he died in 2009. Research and clinical trials are the two things that kept my dad alive long enough to see both of his daughters graduate high school and college, get married and have children.
