It is both an honor and humbling that Jamie and Shelley wanted to do this and I look forward to being there with my children and family on Friday. Jill would be embarrassed by the attention being placed on her, so one big reason for this "event" is to create awareness of the disease that struck Jill.
Did you know?
Every 4 minutes one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
An estimated 137,260 people in the United States will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2010. New cases of leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma will account for 9.0 percent of the 1,529,560 new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States this year*.
Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma will cause the deaths of an estimated 54,020 people in the United States this year. These blood cancers will account for nearly 9.5 percent of the deaths from cancer in 2010 based on the 569,490 total cancer-related deaths.
Every ten minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer. This statistic represents nearly 148 people each day, or more than six people every hour. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20.
*Facts and statistics from Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma Facts 2010-2011
What can you do to help?
Get on the National Bone Marrow Registry (www.bethematch.org)
Getting on the registry requires nothing more than a cheek swab. If you become a match, most transplants now are stem cell related so donating is little more than an apheresis type donation (no needle in the bum).
Matches run along ethnic lines. Currently minorities are in short supply on the registry. A caucasion of European decent is 75% likely to find a match while a person of African decent is only 22% likely to find a match. (We actually had found a match on the registry but never made it to transplant).
Give blood products
During Jill's 10 month treatment we used approximately 80 units of blood product in the form of packed red cells and platelets. Please consider giving blood or platelets.
Support organizations such as the Leukemia Lymphoma Soceity, bethematch.org, or any local group that funds research and development of cures. Here in Gainesville we have STOP!Children's Cancer and of course we have started our own foundation the Jill Darr Rowell Foundation (www.gnvcf.org is the parent organization giving us our 501c3 status).
Thanks again to the South Carolina Women's Soccer Team, the USC Athletics Department and the Smiths. Best of luck Friday.
