MWOY Candidate: Leigh Costa

Leigh Costa is one of the dynamic 2016 North Texas Man & Woman of the Year candidates.  She first learned about blood cancers when a close friend was diagnosed.  Below she answers several questions about her connection to blood cancers and her decision to run for NTX Woman of the Year.

Name: Leigh Costa

Occupation: 
Own and operate Costa Sports Marketing; a full service advertising and sports marketing agency

Connection to Blood Cancers: 
In 2012 I swabbed to enter the national registry (Be the Match) after my friend Jacque was diagnosed with AML. In late 2013 I was notified that I was a perfect match for a 49 year-old male who I had never met and knew nothing about. I immediately flew to Denver to do further testing with the transplant specialists and after being cleared by the doctors, underwent a peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSC) in February of 2014.

Why do you support LLS: 
I anxiously awaited the one-year mark after my donation when I would hopefully have the opportunity to meet my recipient. After all this was someone who now had my blood type, ailments, allergies…all the good AND bad…and while I would do it all over again no questions asked, I flew across the country, spent 10 hours not moving in a hospital bed with my mom holding my hair back while I got violently ill repeated times, and had become a human pin cushion for the two months leading up to the transplant. Needless to say, even though I had never met this man I undoubtedly felt a strong connection to him.


Unfortunately I received a phone call exactly one year later with the news that he had passed away. I remember not being able to speak and tears immediately filling my eyes as they told me his family was grateful they had received more time with him than previously expected. That was great that he got some extra time, and I was glad to be able to provide them that, but I was absolutely CRUSHED. I realized if I was so affected and never even knew this man, how the family and friends of all those diagnosed and battling must feel.


The GREAT news is that my friend Jacque received a transplant from a donor in Germany and she is healthy, strong and here with us today because of evolving research and treatment. She recently got to go to Germany to meet her donor and his family and thank him in person for what he had done.

Through my journey I got the chance to see first hand the strides we’ve made in research and treatment save a friend's life. Sadly, I also experienced devastation and the reality that we still haven’t found a cure, and I will continue to support LLS in honor of my recipient and all the others who have lost their battle with blood cancers until we do!


Campaign Strategy: 
Spread awareness and educate the general public on how much progress we’ve made and continue to make toward ending blood cancers with their support. I also highly encourage those that cannot financially support the cause at this time to at least take two seconds to swab their cheek and enter the national registry as they too could one day get the opportunity to save a life.

Where can people follow your campaign during the 10-weeks: check out my website at www.costasportsmktg.com and campaign photos/updates on social media sites Twitter (@costasportsmktg) and Facebook.

The North Texas Man & Woman of the Year campaign wraps up with a black tie Grand Finale Gala on Saturday, June 18th.  Reserve your table today.

Meet Paige Wiebler

The North Texas Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is thrilled to introduce its newest addition to the Special Events team.  Meet Paige Wiebler.  She is a campaign specialist in the Dallas office and will be focusing her efforts on the Student of the Year campaign and the Links Fore Leukemia Golf Tournament.  Read below as this energetic woman introduces herself. 

"Hello!

Where to begin? I was born and raised in the great state of Iowa where a piece of my heart will always be. After graduating college this past May, my urge to live, travel and gain experiences from other parts of the country – potentially the world – grew to take predominance over the love of my Midwestern roots. And just like that I landed in Dallas.

I attended Iowa State University (go Cyclones!) where I was a member of Chi Omega sorority. I also became involved with the Women’s Club Soccer Team and multiple philanthropic initiatives benefiting organizations such as Make-A-Wish, Special Olympics, and the American Cancer Society. I might be bias but I couldn’t imagine a better place, filled with even better people, on a more beautiful campus to have spent the past four years.

I come from a very large blended family and I adore all of them down to the very last one (Even my youngest brother Reid, who would probably disagree!). The amount of support and love I receive from them no matter where life takes me means everything. 

When I was in the fourth grade my father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  Chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant were all among the treatments he received during his long, difficult, courageous battle.  Now the most beautiful guardian angel, my dad, is my inspiration to join LLS in the fight to end all blood cancers.

Fun Facts About Me:

- I could eat Mexican food for every meal

- I’m obsessed with all T.V. series created by Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder)

- I’d be lost (literally) without my GPS

- Country music is my go to and I’ve been to more concerts than I can count

- Coffee is my saving grace

- My next travel destination is somewhere in Europe

I couldn’t be more excited to join the Special Events team here at LLS.  As an organization so incredibly close to my heart, I can’t wait to start making a difference with you all!" 

We are happy to have Paige as part of the North Texas family.  Reach out and introduce yourself.  She can be contacted at Paige.Wiebler@lls.org or (972) 996-5916.  

Nine Years Ago Today...

Don Armstrong, a fixture in the North Texas Chapter, shares a story about why May 12th is and will always be an important day for him.  Read why this blood cancer survivor has not one but two birthdays to celebrate.

"Nine years ago this morning I was blessed with a life giving stem cell transplant. I remember the morning like it was yesterday. It was like many other mornings I had experienced at the infusion center of Baylor's Sammons Cancer Center with a low key and routine feeling. Yet there was something very different about the start of this day. For me the atmosphere was charged with an intensity and anticipation of the minutes ahead. I think I was fairly calm on the outside, but inside my heart was racing. I had waited 8 long months for this day. 

In the week preceding the transplant I endured my 5th round of chemo to prepare my body for new stem cells. This was by far the most demanding chemo I had experienced, so I was glad it was over.
Finally, it was time for the "transplant". One of oncology nurses, who I had gotten to know very well, came into the room with what looked like a bag of oatmeal, hung it on the IV pole next to my chair and attached it to my central line. For the next 45 minutes the stem cells slowly dripped through the IV line into my body. Every now and then a nurse would come in to shake up the bag of stem cells to keep them from clogging the opening in the IV bag. That was pretty crazy. 

When the last stem cell entered my body I had a very surreal feeling. I couldn't put my finger on the feeling, however I knew something was going on in my body. 

When the transplant process was done several nurses came into the room and congratulated me by singing "Happy Birthday". For me, this was a new start at life. This was my new "first birthday." 

I thank God everyday for the gift of a life saving transplant. I am truly blessed! I am so grateful to my donor who gave so selflessly to make a difference in my life. For everyone that I am fortunate to call my friend, thank you for your support and love. This has been an extraordinary, inspiring journey! I look forward to celebrating many birthdays ahead. It turns out I really do like birthdays.
Have a terrific day! I know I will! God Bless!"

Don has wasted no time in giving back since his transplant 9 years ago.  He is a Board of Trustees member for the North Texas Chapter, the co-chair of the Mission Task Force Committee, in several leadership positions through Team In Training and the race director for the Honored Hero Run in Fort Worth that benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Fort Worth Light The Night Honored Hero

In North Texas, we treasure our incredible Honored Heroes.  An Honored Hero is a person currently in treatment for a blood cancer or a survivor who supports The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in a number of different ways.  Our Honored Heroes participate in events, speak on our behalf to raise awareness, fundraise, etc.  Most importantly, our Honored Heroes remind us of why we work so hard to find cures for blood cancers.

Today we are thrilled to introduce you to Ashley Baganz, the 2014 Fort Worth Light The Night Walk Honored Hero.  We have been fortunate to know Ashley and her family for the last couple of years and we know you'll be just as taken with her as we are.  Read below as Ashley tells her story in her own words.

"In August 2007 I went to the doctor because of a constant headache I thought was caused by a fertility drug. They did blood work and admitted me to the hospital to figure out what was wrong. Dr. Asad Dean happened to be filling in for the regular hematological doctor. After many tests he diagnosed me with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and milo fibrosis, both rare conditions for someone my age. He referred me to Dr. Robert Collins at UT Southwestern. They did my first stem cell transplant in September 2007 after finding both my brother and sister to be perfect matches. My brother was my first donor.  But because they were not able to do the standard chemotherapy regimen prior to transplant I was not completely in remission.  Thus resulting in a relapse three months later. I then went through a few months of chemotherapy, which put me in remission, and I received my second transplant in April 2008 from my sister. I was in remission for 2 1/2 years and relapsed again in December 2010. I went through chemotherapy again, putting me back into remission and received my third transplant from my sister again in May 2011. I was in remission for another two years and relapsed again in July 2013.   Dr. Collins was talking about doing transplant number four, but after much thinking and consulting with other doctors around the country, he decided on a treatment plan of a monthly chemotherapy drug called Vidaza. Dr. Collins has sent my bone marrow across the country for different kinds of testing, hoping they can determine what's causing my leukemia. The researchers at UTSW have injected lab rats with my bone marrow and actually discovered one of the many causes of my leukemia. The monthly vidaza treatment and bone marrow biopsies are keeping the leukemia at bay for the most part. I am now waiting for the researchers to find a permanent cure."

Join Ashley, her family, and thousands of other Light The Night supporters at the Fort Worth Light The Night Walk on Sunday, October 26, 2014.  Register your team today.

Thankful Thursday: "I am a Survivor"

The North Texas staff celebrates Don Armstrong's 7th bone
marrow transplant birthday with him in mid-May.

For me a diagnosis of cancer has been life changing and quite frankly the best thing that ever happened to me. Sounds crazy I know, however it is so true. I am a survivor for a reason!

I have been on an extraordinary, inspiring journey the past seven years. This journey began with the surprising diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) on September 14, 2005. I didn't understand why I got this disease. In fact, I didn't even really know what leukemia was at the time. I learned quickly and was determined to get to the other side of my treatment.

Like so many individuals who are diagnosed with a blood cancer, I had no thought that I might be ill. There were signs and symptoms of my illness but they only made sense after my diagnosis. This is common to many patients as there are no real predictors that determine the onset of blood cancers. I've learned that these diseases are very indiscriminate in whom they touch and my diagnosis could happen to any of us.

My first round of chemo was successful.  After 30 days in the hospital I was released in remission from the AML, and for me, there was a sense of relief. However, for my future survivorship, my doctor determined that a stem cell transplant was needed to eliminate any future recurrence of leukemia. I had four additional rounds of chemo, which included another hospital stay and three rounds of chemo as an out patient.  This harsh treatment kept me in remission while doctors located a donor for me. There were notable moments for me during the five rounds of chemo: some real lows and some huge triumphs along the way which taught me tremendous life lessons. Most importantly, on May 12, 2006, eight months after my diagnosis, I was blessed with a stem cell transplant and a new start on life with a fresh perspective!

While I was going through treatment I didn't have any idea that Team in Training (TNT) existed. TNT found me while checking out The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's (LLS) website one evening in March 2007. I registered for an information meeting to learn more about the program and then went to a kick-off event. The kick-off was so exciting and encouraging that I signed up for the 2007 San Diego Rock n Roll marathon. The event was an absolutely fabulous experience and set me on a journey that has included multiple TNT marathons around the world. The participant's sacrifice and dedication is so inspiring to me. I remain amazed at the transformation of so many individuals make from couch potato to endurance athlete. My most vivid memory of my TNT experience(s) has been that people are willing to sign up and work so hard to raise money to find a cure for blood cancer.

I quickly reached a point in my journey that I wanted to know what else I could do for LLS and the Society's mission to find a cure and support patient services. Several years ago that desire became a reality as I was asked to join the North Texas Board of Trustees. Being a part of this committed group of individuals has been an uplifting, eye opening experience for me. The Board is so dedicated to collectively meet and exceed the mission of LLS.

Recently, I was asked to serve as the Chairman of the newly formed North Texas TNT Executive Leadership Committee. Excited and honored, I accepted this opportunity. This has been a rewarding experience as I've met countless volunteers that have stepped up in support of the current and future direction of the North Texas TNT program.

I am confident that we are close to finding a cure for blood cancer. We couldn't make this a reality without the staff and volunteers. Thank you to everyone that supports LLS. Together we are making a difference!

"SOMEDAY IS TODAY!"