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Denver, CO. Denver lung cancer survivors Hazel Senz, Kim Aldridge and Jean Landsverk represented Team Draft at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night. #HockeyFightsCancer #changingthefaceoflungcancer #LCAM15
I’m a patient of a wonderful man, Dr. Kono. He has invited my husband John and I to attend Tuesday’s Avalanche game as a guest of TeamDraft. Something that we are truly looking forward to! I have had lung cancer for almost three years now. My treatments included eight hours of surgery, 40 sessions of radiation, and three courses of chemotherapy. The pain became so unmanageable that I have no recollection of last April! Dr. Kono persevered, however and started me on Opdivo as soon as it was approved by the FDA. Since then my life has completely turned around!! The tumors have stabilized and my pain is managed with minimal drug therapy. John and I are enjoying traveling again including a vacation in Mexico. We plan on celebrating our 43rd anniversary this year in Las Vegas or Hawaii.
We are extremely grateful that you have initiated a national effort to Change the Face of Lung Cancer. And we pledge to support your program in any way we can. Only through these efforts and dedicated doctors like Dr. Kono will we find a cure for this horrible disease. ~ Kim Aldridge
The survivors watched the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Calgary Flames 6-3.
I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in April 2014 and given 1 year to live. I was not a smoker and had been participating in triathlons in the years before my diagnosis. This life changing news caused a pivot in my focus but not a change in my positive outlook.
Prior to my diagnosis, I was a Senior Vice President of Technology Healthcare firm. After my diagnosis, i took a leave of absence from work and focused on my treatment. I went through Platinum Chemo, had radiation treatments on my brain and hoped for the best I wanted to make the most out of the time I have left. Dr Kono and Dr Doebele suggested a test by Foundations Medicine that might help with further treatments. I sent a tumor sample to Foundations Medicine to conduct a Genomic Profile and found out I was ALK positive. I just started Crizotinib and am hoping it buys me more time. Since my diagnosis I entered and MBA program that will complete in August and hope to continue skiing this season (last year I got 15 days in hoping for more this year!). I was a 51 year old bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding last week end and was so happy to be there! ~ Jean Landsverk
Given the overwhelming success of our Survivor at Every Stadium initiative, in 2012, we expanded it beyond the gridiron to the ice through our Survivor at Every Rink initiative. As part of Team Draft’s National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer, this celebration of survivorship raises awareness, gives hope to those battling the disease and shines a light on the important work being done at cancer research and treatment centers across North America.
Through our Survivor at Every Rink initiative, we are working with all NHL teams to have a lung cancer survivor attend one of the team’s home games as a part of their national initiative, Hockey Fights Cancer!
Team Draft’s goals are to create a unique experience for participating survivors and to raise awareness on a local, national, and international level by using each game and each survivor’s story to weave a broader narrative about the state of cancer and the hope that now exists for those battling the disease.
Special thanks to the Colorado Avalanche, the NHL, Kaiser Denver, Dr. Scott Kono, CU Cancer Center and our Team Draft supporters for helping make this experience possible.
Donate now to Support the National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer!
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