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Racing to Save Lives Welcome to my Team In Training home page. About CLL Chronic lymphatic leukemia is a form of leukemia characterized by greatly increased numbers of lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are one of the types of white blood cell. CLL accounts for ~30% of all types of leukemia. It is the commonest form of leukemia affecting adults. Approximately 15,340 new cases of CLL are diagnosed in the US each year, and approximately 4,400 deaths result from CLL annually. How CLL has affected my family CLL can be a familial disease. It can occur due to genetic transmission in families. In my family my father and both of my brothers were diagnosed with CLL. My father, now 86, was diagnosed with CLL 25y ago. The disease has behaved benignly in his case. My elder brother, Michael, was diagnosed with CLL at age 53. The leukemia presented more aggressively in Michael. As a result he endured 4 years of chemotherapy before he underwent successful bone marrow transplantation 2 years ago. My younger brother, Malcolm, also developed aggressive CLL at age 51. In spite of chemotherapy the CLL transformed into an acute lymphoma leading to his premature death at age 53 in 2008 shortly after his 25th wedding anniversary. In my participation with TNT I am honoring my brother, Malcolm OConnell, who died from CLL and lymphoma. Malcolm had a loud and lively personality. In addition to being Michael's and my dear brother, Malcolm was a loving husband, devoted father of 3 boys, and beloved son of my parents. Malcolm contributed much to his country (Great Britain) as well as to his family and friends. He had a career in the Ministry of Defense working for MI6 that culminated in him being awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 for his work on counter-terrorism. As a teenager Malcolm swam for Great Britain and at that time held the national records for 100m and 200m breaststroke. He competed in many international swim meets around the world, including the Commonwealth Games in 1970 at age 15, and in the Munich Olympics in 1972 at age 17. TNT My experience of this disease, and the loss to our family, has motivated me to join Team in Training (TNT) to raise awareness of CLL and raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). In September 2009 I will join a team of athletes to compete in the Augusta 70.3 Half-Ironman Triathlon (1.2 mile open water swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run) in Georgia to raise funds for LLS. My personal goal is to raise $4,000. I truly hope that you are able to support me in this endeavor by making a donation to LLS. It is my sincere hope that the funds I raise will contribute to improved outcomes for patients with leukemia and lymphoma through supporting research into these devastating conditions. Should you wish to make a donation, you can do this in one of the following 2 ways: 1) Donate through my website 2) By mailing a check made out to LLS to me at: Soozie Lewis 12024 Drumore Way, Glen Allen, VA 23059 All donations are 100% tax-deductible. Thank you for kind support. Michael, Soozie and Malcolm (1962) |
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Soozie Lewis
Last Edited on: 07/12/2009
18 comments
Marie Huston Parietti
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Jan Lawrence
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Patrice Hoffmann
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The White Family
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The Galbraith Family
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Ann Hemp
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Bertie and Steve Strickler
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the Teal family
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Provenzo Family
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Lesley, Dag, Nate and Tristan Vandermeer
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