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.”
Twelve years ago, Life Rafter Bobby Kinsey began his own battle against GIST. Since then, he has helped countless people with GIST across the world. Most of you know Bobby as an LRG member who posts advice and words of encouragement in our email community. Now, Bobby has decided that he wants to do more to help fight this cancer.
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.
The Life Raft Group wishes to thank all of our members who participated in this year’s Holiday Campaign. Though it is still underway (look for final results in the next newsletter), this important campaign has raised over $47,000 to support our patient education & support, advocacy, and research to find a cure GIST.
The Life Raft Group is hosting an online shopping event in collaboration with our dedicated volunteer photographer Kim Tallau and Touchstone Crystals Jewelry (a member of the Swarovski Group). You can shop their online store from now until December 20 with 15 percent of all sales going towards helping the LRG achieve its goal of curing GIST and to helping those living with it until then.
On November 3, 2011, the twelfth Edi film prize for the best advertising, industrial and corporate films was awarded in the Schiffbauhalle in Zurich. Our film, “Life with GIST” won a Silver Edi in the “Corporate: Internal Communication & Training” section.
