Adults

Rick Ostroff and his family have a legacy of philanthropy with a heartfelt connection to a disease he never had. During the first three years of his life, he spent time on the leukemia floor of Children’s Hospital in Boston but eventually was found to have the critical illness of gamma globulin anemia rather than then-fatal leukemia.

In October 2014, I was handing out candy to my neighborhood’s tiny ghouls and goblins, but the scariest thing that Halloween was a phone call from my doctor. My heart pounded as the doctor told me I had myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood disorder in which the bone marrow stops functioning properly. My current MDS diagnosis is refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts.

Gwendolyn describes herself as a wanderlust who never likes to let the grass grow under her feet. After college, she moved from her hometown in Florida to Houston and spent the next few years moving around Texas for work. She started her new life in Texas where her son, Sterling, was born and raised.

I am a three-time survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). First, I received full mantle radiation therapy in 1986, followed by chemotherapy in 1994, and finally a bone marrow transplant in 2004. I am now 17 years cancer-free. I owe my life to my oncologists, Winship Cancer Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and my wife.

It started when I was in my second year of studying engineering with a small lump on my neck. Dad's suspicion got me to the procedure room the next morning for a biopsy. My father, Dr. Promothesh Roy (Dr.

When I was diagnosed with stage 3B Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), I was only 26 years old. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was one of the first organizations I found with the information I was looking for. I was on their website nearly every day when I saw that they would be hosting the first Blood Cancer Conference in Georgia that summer.

I decided to call my cancer the “little c” rather than the “Big C.” I wasn't giving it that much power over my life!

I have been very active with LLS for over 17 years including: serving on the Wisconsin Chapter Board and Leadership Development Committee; fundraising for virtually all of the campaigns; patient mentoring; and advocacy leadership.