Young Survivors Make a Big Impact

(L to R): Cancer Survivors Neillie Butler, Callie Dunaway
and LaKisha Cargill

Yesterday, the Young Supporters Board (YSB) of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center held its bimonthly meeting here at the center. In addition to the board's regular business, this meeting also featured a panel of three young cancer survivors: Neillie Butler, a three-time sarcoma survivor, and LaKisha Cargill, a five-year breast cancer survivor - and also both YSB members - and Callie Dunaway, a seven-month brain cancer survivor and staff member of the Cancer Center's Office of Development and Community Relations.

Hearing these young women share their stories was an emotional experience for all of us, and it was a powerful reminder of why we - myself included - do the work that we do. And that is saving lives, which is the ultimate goal of cancer research. Hearing from someone who has been impacted by research firsthand and whose life was saved by the doctors and nurses at the Cancer Center drives the point home - every research discovery, every new treatment, everything we as cancer investigators do, we do to save the lives of cancer patients.

I thank Neillie, LaKisha and Callie for sharing their cancer experiences with us, and I especially thank the Young Supporters Board for taking such an active role in the fight against cancer. This dynamic group of young professionals works throughout the year to raise money for cancer research and to support the Cancer Center's patient and family service efforts. Theirs is the generation that can eliminate cancer as a public health problem, and I feel confident that with our help they will make this a reality.

-Ed Partridge, M.D.