Life Fest 2024 took place this year Friday, July 19th to Sunday, July 21st at the beautiful Signia Hilton Hotel in sunny San José, California. Close to 150 patients, caregivers, doctors, industry experts, friends and family came together to learn, laugh, connect, comfort, and provide hope for one another. Attendees immersed themselves in educational sessions that covered everything from a GIST 101 to current research updates to new treatment options; holistic approaches, interactive panels and beyond.
In addition to the sessions, attendees gathered in groups to share their journeys with one another offering mentorship and inspiration. The event culminated on Sunday morning with an energizing GIST DO IT Walk around a neighboring park, a few more educational sessions, including the role of Artificial Intelligence, and a message from Executive Director, Sara Rothschild, on what the future holds for the LRG.
Life Fest Highlights
Awards Ceremony

Rob Taylor
Our Celebration of Life Luncheon began with a delicious spread & socializing and was followed by a wonderful time acknowledging #GISTLife through an amazing time of sharing by GIST Advocate & Mentor Rob Taylor who talked about the importance of having a plan, prioritizing your happiness, using your time wisely to enjoy your life, and knowing that the LRG is always there to support you in all steps of the road throughout your GIST journey. After this time of sharing, Rob, Laura Occhiuzzi, Deputy Director, and Brian Morello, Director of Development, acknowledged long-term survivors, as well as our state leaders and GIST Mentors. The trio, plus advocates from our community, also awarded the highest honors to the Clinician, Volunteer, Humanitarian and Center (of Excellence) of the Year.

Brian Morello & Dr. Blakely
Dr. Andrew Blakely, NCI, NIH, was presented with our Clinician of the Year Award for outstanding medical professionals who have made a significant impact on the GIST community.
Dr. Blakely shared, “This is my first standing ovation, so thank you all very much! I don’t get embarrassed easily but I can only say thank you. I try to do as much as I can, and it’s not enough. We need to do more and we will continue to do all that we can. If there is anywhere I can help, whether is a second option, whatever is it, I will. Also, as we try to move research forward and expand treatments option, we try do better by patients. Thank you all so much!”

Brian Morello, Carolyn Dewalt, & Laura Occhiuzzi
Brian Morello & Laura Occhiuzzi presented the Volunteer of the Year Award to our volunteer Advocacy & Engagement Specialist, Carolyn Dewalt. Carolyn has been a tremendous support for many GIST patients during their journey with GIST.
Laura shared, “I can’t think of anyone more deserving than Carolyn to get this award. She is there when you need her; she has so many ideas. Her commitment, her passion, her energy and her unwavering willingness to go that extra mile.”

Drs. Heinrich & Zhu
The GIST Center of Excellence Award was awarded to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and was accepted by Dr. Michael Heinrich & Dr. Limim Zhu.
“There are so many parts of our Cancer Center, there is the lab part & clinical part and there is the regular care part that is not part of the clinical research. It takes a village or maybe a small city to do all of that so we are honored to stand here for Cancer Center. The work we’ve done together has been honored. But is not because of me but our whole team,” shared Dr. Heinrich .

Rodrigo Salas
Former LRG Board Member & President of Fundación GIST México, Rodrigo Salas, was presented with our Humanitarian of the Year Award. In his acceptance speech, Rodrigo shared his story of how he found the LRG and the impact it had for him and his family.
Rodrigo shared, “Thank you so much. It has been quite an honor to be part of a group that day by day works in leaving things better than we find them. That is what we do here at The Life Raft Group.”
And at the end of the celebration our Board of Directors gave a surprise, heartfelt tribute to Deputy Executive Director Laura Occhiuzzi for her amazing, productive tenure with the LRG.
Presentations
GIST Updates