Stand Up To Cancer

Katie Widmar

One of the things Katie Widmar remembers most clearly about chemotherapy is the cold. The 22-year-old relied on a fleece blanket to keep her warm during her 2006 battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and now Widmar brings donated fleece blankets to the same oncology ward where she received treatment. "Christine Kosmeja, a 42-year-old with a bright smile and a bald head, confides that she's had a rough couple of days," the author of the article writes. "When she sees the blanket, she breaks down sobbing. 'It's perfect,' she says, pulling it around her shoulders."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-talk-mastony-blanketsdec30,0,2701115.story

James Mannett

This excellent Wall Street Journal article tells the story of 45-year-old Mannett, whose battle against a rare form of carcinoid cancer has made him an overnight expert in medical bills and insurance. He's gone so far as to schedule conference calls between his doctor and insurer and to negotiate lower fees from surgeons before operations. "Unless you go through something like this, you don't understand this stuff," he says. "I just assumed that when you have insurance and you have a bill, they pay it."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704718204574616181790811124.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_personalfinance

Dylan McElfresh

McElfresh, a track star at Wright State University, was shocked to learn he had testicular cancer in the spring of last year. Since his diagnosis and treatment, he has dedicated himself to sharing his story, both in order to raise cancer awareness and to spread a message of hope and optimism. "People ask a lot of questions about cancer and it's always a bad thing, there are never any good things that come from it," he says. "Everyone hears cancer and thinks the worst. It's not always the worst. It depends on the person you are, the will you have, how bad you have it, the doctors around, the support you get."
http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20100104/NEWS01/1040303

Kinsey Morrison

Morrison, another young adult from the Midwest, fought cancer as a five-year-old, facing down aplastic anemia. Now the 13-year-old she helps raise funds for cancer research by sharing her story at events sponsored by groups like the Red Cross, Make a Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society and Gilda's Club, a support group in Louisville for people of all ages with cancer. "There, we're just people," she says. "There might be a bald woman singing karaoke. Some people ask you how you're doing and it's like your cancer defines you. There, you can talk about things at other levels of your life. You're not cancer; you're you."
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100103/ZONE09/1030371/1008/NEWS01/Cancer+survivor+aids+Gilda+s+Club

As always, we welcome you to share your stories with us in the comments below.