Many of you have expressed an interest in hearing about how Jan, my Honored Teammate, is doing, so I have set up this portion of my website. I will try to keep it up-to-date with the lastest news I receive.

Jan's Story

Shortly after the birth of Jan's new grandson Freddy, she was diagnosed with early stage multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. Jan had a stem cell transplant in August 2007. We are all very hopeful that this transplant will put her in remission and on the road to recovery.

August 2010
Jan continues to do well, but unfortunately the myeloma is beginning to make an appearance again. The good news is that there are some promising new treatments being developed.

September 2008
Jan continues to do really well! There are still low levels of myeloma in her system, but we are all hoping that they will continue to drop (and disappear!) as her new immune system takes charge.

5 December 2007
Jan is doing GREAT! She got a bug from Freddy (nephew/grandson, depending on your point of view) but is working on getting better. Highlights include "near perfect" blood counts and a planned trip to Costa Rica in a few weeks. Plus hair! She writes:

"Aside from the Freddy bug, I've been doing very well.  The bug however really did knock me [for a loop]. It reminded me that my immune system is still not up to par. I haven't had a cold in years, and I mean years, and this thing put me out of commission for a week. But I'm better now. Prior to getting sick, I was doing great. At my last doctor visit, my counts were "near perfect." I still have a smidge of myeloma, but hopefully that count will continue to go down, or at least stabilize. I was back to doing yoga every day and walking almost every day, and back to my full work schedule. Getting sick (and Thanksgiving) unfortunately did slow that momentum down, but starting next week I plan to get going again.  One thing that I have to look forward to is I'm going to visit my childhood friend who lives in Costa Rica.  I'm going by myself and leaving the day after Xmas and will come back on the 30th. A short visit, but I'm REALLY looking forward to it. So that's pretty much my update.  Oh, my hair is finally coming in!  I still have probably a couple of more months before I can rid myself of the wig. The wig bit is getting very old."

21 September 2007
JAN HAS A NEW IMMUNE SYSTEM! She had her stem cell transplant on 9 August 2007 and has been working on getting better every since. On 5 September she sent me a note:

"Thanks so much for your note. It sounds like you all had a pretty good time at Naushon, but I'm sure it feels great to be back home. I am home and feeling slowly, very slowly, better. They told me when I left the hospital to not measure my recovery by days but weeks -- I get it! Some days I feel like I'm going backwards, but lately there has been some improvement. I was home a week yesterday. I try to walk everyday, even if it's around the block, which can feel like climbing Mt. Everest.  Then I think of what you're doing.  The human body is amazing with the extremes it can endure."

20 June 2007
Jan just wrote with the following news:

"I did have a little disappointing news that I have to have another two cycles of chemo before they do the [stem cell] transplant. Apparently they didn't get quite the results they were looking for with the first round..."

7 June 2007
Jan just had her second chemotherapy treatment. Although the treatment is making her tired, she has been able to continue working and is preparing for her stem cell transplant.

Alex's Story

Alex Stuetze was a beautiful 13-year-old little girl who, in her short time on this earth, saw more doctors than most people see in a lifetime. She was born with a rare metabolic disorder that required her to have a liver transplant at age six. As if this wasn’t enough for one person to endure, five years later, in 2004, she was diagnosed with lymphoma. She underwent treatment, including chemotherapy, which put her cancer in remission, but it came back. In May 2005 she began treatment again, but her lymphoma just kept returning. Alex passed away on 19 October 2006, but our Tucson Team continues to train and raise money in her honor. The following is a message that Alex's mother sent after Alex's death:

19 October 2006: From Betsy
I wanted to extend thanks to everyone for their continued prayers. This morning, the world as we know it came to a screeching halt. Our beautiful angel girl, Alex, left us. Our lives will never be the same as we move forward. She invariably changed each of us she met. Nothing could express what is in my heart, as I know she touched each of you as well. Alex has been the light in my world for the past 13 years illuminating my way each day of my life. Right now I feel like the world will forever be darker without her in it. October 19th will forever be remembered as the day our Angel face left us, our piece of heaven on earth. Hopefully each of us takes away some beautiful part of her, a memory, a moment where you saw in her face a glimpse of heaven. Our lives will never be the same. May her light, love, beauty, bravery and unselfish nature remain in each of us as a reminder. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We couldn't have made it through without them.

Thank you,
Betsy Stuetze

If you'd like to make a secure online donation, please click here.