North Texas Cancer Expo: Keynote Speaker Announced

KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCED:
Lila Javan
Two-Time Cancer Survivor & Founder of Climb 2 Cure

The North Texas Chapter is honored to introduce Lila Javan as the keynote speaker for the 2017 North Texas Blood Cancer Conference.  Lila Javan is a two time cancer survivor and filmmaker who has photographed award-winning features, commercials, documentaries and short films. She is also the founder of Climb2Cure, a new LLS fundraising campaign.

Let's take a minute to meet Lila.

"My name is Lila Javan. In 2010, my life was turned upside down when I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Leukemia (AML). I was told that my only chance for survival was a stem cell/bone marrow transplant. I had a bone marrow transplant that fall – my sister was my donor – and after a year in turmoil, I recovered and rebuilt my life as a cancer survivor.

In 2014, my next adventure was to be a solo trip to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro. The very week that I was booking my flights, I discovered that my cancer was back. In September of 2014, after another summer of chemo, I had a second transplant. This time it was stem cells from an unrelated donor.

While I was in the hospital, a friend took a window frame and placed a beautiful photograph of Kilimanjaro in it. He hung this on my wall opposite my bed. Throughout my treatment, I would
stare at that window and visualized myself climbing the mountain. My doctors and nurses all asked about the picture and I would tell them about my magical trip. An amazing thing happened - my solo trip became a group trip. Now, a group of 14 doctors, nurses, therapists and friends all wanted to journey with me to climb the highest peak in Africa.

I reached out to LLS to see if we could do the trek as a fundraiser for them, and "Climb2Cure" was born.  My solo climb evolved into a new Team In Training fundraising platform for LLS that will continue for years to come and expand to other mountain tops." 

 Lila's team raised an astonishing $133,000 for their climb.  She is turning her journey into a documentary film and already has her sights set on a new climb: Mount Everest.  Lila and her oncologist were interviewed after their climb for this NBC segment.

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Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Lila Javan speak by registering today for the FREE North Texas Cancer Expo that will be held on Saturday, September 16th at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.