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Frank Primeggia and Family
Transplant survivor Frank Primeggia, who spoke at the celebration, is shown here with his wife and daughter.

When Frank Primeggia was diagnosed with leukemia in early 1999, his world suddenly turned upside down. With a young daughter, a new house, and an increasingly hectic job, he faced a momentous decision about where to seek treatment. He counts himself very lucky that he turned to Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the stem cell transplant that saved his life.

"What I found the first minute I was here is that Sloan embraces you," he told a crowd of about 175 fellow stem cell transplant recipients gathered with family, friends, and Center staff for Memorial Sloan-Kettering's 12th annual Stem Cell Transplant Survivors Celebration. "The doctors here are very knowledgeable; they're very aggressive; the nurses are outstanding. The care that I got on a daily and hourly basis was just incredible."

The October 25 event allowed transplant survivors to meet one another and reunite with doctors, nurses, and other staff involved in their care. It also provided an occasion to reflect on how far the field has progressed and how many lives have been transformed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

Sid Weinberg
Transplant survivor Sid Weinberg also spoke at the celebration.

In his opening remarks, Stephen D. Nimer, Chief of the Hematology Service, noted that the previous month had marked the 50th anniversary of the first successful use of a bone marrow transplant (BMT) to treat cancer. Although that work eventually led to a Nobel Prize, Dr. Nimer pointed out, "That's not the prize most of our eyes are on. Our eyes are on the prize of curing more and more people with cancer."

Another transplant survivor, Sid Weinberg, said that when he was diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 73, his primary care doctor thought he was too old for a stem cell transplant. But Memorial Sloan-Kettering medical oncologist Tarun Kewalramani was more optimistic, so Mr. Weinberg underwent the procedure. Now, at 77, he leads an active life, playing golf and tennis and volunteering for a lymphoma charity.

Marcel R. van den Brink, Chief of the Adult BMT Service, said that the annual celebration was important for reminding medical staff of the real purpose of their work. "This is probably the one moment that we truly measure what we are doing," he said.

Stem Cell Transplant Survivors
Photographs were taken of all transplant survivors as they arrived and were posted on large bulletin boards.

He also praised medical oncologist and BMT specialist Ann A. Jakubowski for her tireless efforts in helping to establish a new clinic on Memorial Sloan-Kettering's main campus, set to open in spring 2008, which will combine patient visits and treatments in one location, as well as for her role in organizing free housing for transplant patients at the American Cancer Society's recently opened Hope Lodge in midtown Manhattan.

Richard J. O'Reilly, Chief of the Pediatric BMT Service, told the patients they belonged to an "extraordinary club of human beings," even as the number of transplants at Memorial Sloan-Kettering has grown to more than 3,000. "You have inspired us to develop new approaches and to really further this field," he said, "so more and more folks can be part of this exclusive club."


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