I first learned that I had lymphoma in 1985. My chemotherapy treatment was developed at the University of Iowa. My doctor found that my Great Uncle was in the original study group for my chemotherapy treatment and had done very well. This was really encouraging to me.

In 1985 you really didn't tell people you had cancer, because many people would avoid you. They were afraid. Today almost everyone knows someone, a friend or family member if not themselves, that has or had cancer.

In 1985 my prognosis for survival was five years. Since that time I have been in out of remission and watched the types of therapy change over the years. The drugs for side effects have also improved. My son was in junior high in 1985. My goal was to see him graduate. This I accomplished Ð I saw him progressively graduate from high school, college, and medical school.

Lymphoma treatment has come a long way since 1985. The type of lymphoma I have is now a chronic condition but still isn't curable. However in general it isn't fatal either. But then last August I went in for a routine blood test at the oncologist office. I was running a fever and thought it was from a typical infection. The fever got worse and I was hospitalized. After a bone marrow test it was determined that I have leukemia. My leukemia was probably caused by the chemotherapy I received for lymphoma.

To survive my leukemia, the treatment was to use chemotherapy to gain a remission and then have a bone marrow transplant. My sister was tested as a donor and didn't match. My information was sent to the international bone marrow registry. There are three levels of testing done. The first level gave 64 matches, in the second level of testing I had 8 and the third level of testing I had 2 identical matches.

Finally, January 2007 the transplant was arranged. It was my job before the transplant to have another round of chemotherapy and full body radiation to kill my bone marrow. This has to be done before the donor donates, since the recipient needs to receive the donated cells within 24 hours of the donation. The chemo and radiation takes 4 days to complete and then the body had to have a 24-hour rest period before the donation. So if you are following a time line this means that I had no - that's no immunity for several days before receiving the donation. You do a lot of praying nothing happens to the donor. The general hospital stay after the transplant is another month. I was out in three weeks.

The recovery is considered to take a full year or more. I have done extremely well. Some of the milestones the doctor's look at are bone marrow biopsies at 30 days and 100 days they do a bone marrow test to see what percent of your bone marrow are donor cells and what percent are your former bone marrow cells. The goal is to have a 100% by 100 days. I had 100% at 30 and again at 100 days. To date I have not had an infection which also is phenomenal. I attribute it to all the good friends and family who prayed for me and supported me during this time. I could open a card store with all notes and get well cards. Leading a good sailor's life hasn't hurt either.

The first question most people ask is do I know my donor Ð No. I know a few basic facts Ð it was a 19-year-old male with A positive blood (I know that because mine was negative and now it is positive) The international registry has rules on this. At one year, I can contact them and they will ask my donor if he would like to know me and he has the option of saying yes or no. I was able to write him a thank you that was delivered to him by the international registry. I could not use my name or anything that would refer to where I lived. It was not easy, and the card wasn't very big but this is what I told him in the card:

"How gracious for someone like you, a stranger, to give to me a chance to see my grandchildren grow up. My husband and I agree that what goes around comes around and may you receive much for your help."

During the time I was in the hospital for the first round of chemo to put the leukemia into remission, and when I was there for the chemo, radiation and bone marrow transplant, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society sponsored classes on coming home, living with chemotherapy and life after a transplant. The booklets, the services, the survivor groups, and help for families with medical expenses Ð these are just a few things the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society does on a daily basis. But most of all, the treatments and protocols which saved my life we all developed through research The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society helped to fund Ð funding which would not have been possible without the support of events like our Leukemia Cup Regatta.