In 1999 I had a lump on my neck, and after strong urging from my wife and my mother, I finally went to my family doctor. My white blood cell counts were really high, and antibiotics didn't help. Eventually, a biopsy indicated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
I was 45 years old with sons who were 4 and 7 years old and a couple of teenage daughters. During my first appointment with my oncologist, I asked how long I would live, and she replied, "Maybe 10 years." I took her for her word, and the first thing that went through my head was that my boys would be 14 and 17 at best when I left this world. It was a very disturbing thought.
It took me several years to get used to the idea that I had cancer and that I would likely be dead by 2009. Eventually, I decided that I should make myself as healthy as possible to fight this chronic disease. I changed my diet drastically, eating and juicing many more vegetables, and I started running regularly to get in better shape. I discovered Team In Training (TNT) in 2005, thinking that the program would help me stay in shape, and the money that I raised might help with developing better treatments that might benefit me.
I did the Chicago Marathon with TNT, and I was hooked. In addition to staying in shape and raising money, I met the most inspiring people I had ever met, including many kids going through treatments for leukemia. I became a mentor for TNT teams and started doing two events a year. As of this year, I have done 30 TNT events and have raised over $90,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). I have also been involved in Light The Night Indianapolis, been on two Man and Woman of the Year teams, and I am currently on a Students of the Year team. I have been on the Indiana Board of Trustees since 2017. I have raised nearly $10,000 through these other non-TNT fundraising programs.
In 2013 my bone marrow was becoming saturated with cancerous blood cells, and I had to do six months of chemo (bendamustine) and RituxiMab treatments. I will probably need treatment again before too long, but I am doing pretty well right now for somebody who was supposed to only live 10 years from 1999. I believe that TNT/LLS has helped keep me alive with the constant inspiration I have gotten from others fighting blood cancers, many of them successfully but some of them losing their battles. I hope to continue doing TNT events and to be involved in LLS in the coming years, hoping that someday kids won't have to deal with blood cancers.
Gary
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
