News from S & E

Dear friends-

We have difficult news. Two weeks ago, Susannah was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia (CMML), and is now working with Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. While she is currently stable and plans to teach for at least one semester at her new job at Mt. Holyoke College, the only possible cure for her condition is to find a donor match and receive a bone marrow transplant.

We are blessed to be working with a very competent and accessible team of specialists, and to have a wonderful support network. We know that your thoughts and prayers are with us, and as you get in touch we would also love to hear about what's happening in your lives. This blog is a place for that.

In the last two weeks, we have learned a great deal about bone marrow donation, and we have become committed to using our experience to improve the situation for other cancer patients. Bone marrow and umbilical cord blood donation are simple procedures that routinely save lives. Signing up to join the international registry is also simple in many countries. Even in this context, though, we see patterns of white privilege. While no one can be sure of finding a matching bone marrow donor, the chances of finding a match for a person with Western European ancestry are substantially better than those for a person of color. With your help, we hope that we can begin to close this gap, so that anyone who needs a donor can find one.
This following post provides more details, explaining how you can register to donate bone marrow and what that entails. We encourage you, if you are so moved, to forward this to your own networks, perhaps adding your own message if you feel that is appropriate.
Again, we are strengthened by the knowledge of your love and support,

Susannah and Ethan