In January of 2015, Greg Robertson decided to lose 15 pounds.  He had worked out regularly for several years and took no medications.  After about 3 months he reached his goal weight, but to his surprise, he could not stop losing weight. His annual check-up indicated that he needed to see a hematologist.  He was soon diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma in September of 2015.

         After several rounds of intense chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant in May of 2016, his lymphoma is in remission. Last year, his brother and sister-in-law
participated in San Francisco’s Light the Night Walk in his honor. He and his family are
so grateful that this year, he can join the walkers in Tampa to increase awareness about blood cancers and help raise money to find a cure for them. His positive outlook and spirit are a constant source of encouragement to all who he encounters.

 

          Greg is the Operations Director for Van Dyke Church in Lutz, Florida. He has been active in the community for many years through the Boy Scouts, various school PTA’s
and through his church.  He has been married to his college sweetheart for 35 years and they have 2 children, a son-in-law and 2 precious grandsons. 

          Frank Wadel was 37 years old, married, and had a 7 year old daughter and a 5 year old son in early 2012.  He knew something was wrong when he was so short of breath that he could not walk around his block without stopping multiple times.  After many scans and surgeries on the football-sized mass in Frank’s chest, it was discovered that he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  

         Hodgkin’s disease is one of the cancers that has a relatively high “cure” rate through chemotherapy.  Unfortunately, Frank’s lymphoma was an outlier.  After 4 different types of chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants his disease was still present.  However, one of the many new therapies that LLS funded was immunotherapy, and after Frank was treated with that, his disease finally went into remission after a 3+-year battle.
 

         Frank is now 41 and is hoping to return to work at some point in the future.   He is able to stay home, help around the house, and is trying to get back to 100% physically.  For now, he is enjoying more than ever his family, his home, and his health.