Stand Up To Cancer

Alicia Parlette

Parlette was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called alveolar soft part sarcoma in 2005, when she was 23 years old; she documented her experience battling the disease in a series for the San Francisco Chronicle called "Alicia's Story." In spite of treatments with interferon and chemotherapy, the cancer eventually spread from her hip and breast to her lungs, and she passed away last week at the age of 28. "It became really like a lifeline in a way for me because I would often come to conclusions about things -- things I didn't even realize until I had written them," Parlette said of her writing in an April 14 interview.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/22/DDMP1D11M1.DTL

Guru (Keith Elam)

Keith Elam, better known as Guru, was one of the most influential rappers in New York's early hip-hop scene. As half of the late-eighties/early nineties duo Gang Starr, he was a major figure in bridging hip-hop and jazz, and went on to have a solo career, releasing four volumes of his "Jazzmatazz" series. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma last summer, Guru passed away last week at the age of 47. In this article, his sister Tricia and the rest of his family remember him as "creative like crazy. Dynamic and curious, eager and ambitious."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/arts/music/21guru.html

Alexis Johnson

While undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, Johnson, 63, found out about Gilda's Club, a national group offering social and emotional support for cancer patients, through a flier in a packet of information distributed to cancer patients. After spending 16 weeks attending classes and programs there, Johnson realized something was missing: there were very few African-American people taking advantage of the club's services in her community. Now, she's partnering with the organization to raise awareness of its resources. "The idea is to get you away from a hospital setting, and thinking about your illness," she says. "More people should know Gilda's Club exists so they can make an informed decision whether or not to come. Gilda's should not be the best-kept secret in town."
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/91911579_Wyckoff_cancer_survivor_spearheads_Gilda_s_Club_awareness_campaign.html

Connor Olson

Olson, a high school senior who had been battling bone cancer for more than a year, recently passed away from the disease at the age of 18. As his health took a turn for the worse, his school, Tonhanoxie High, arranged a special graduation ceremony just for him. "I think the graduation gave him some closure, gave him a goal that he had worked very hard for," his father, Martin Olson, says. "His pain has been lifted," Olson said. "He didn't lose to cancer . . . it could not quash the spirit of the man."
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/21/1894385_tonganoxie-student-who-courageously.html?storylink=omni_popular#ixzz0mLAntF6v

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