Hook + Gaff Teaming Up to Fight Leukemia & Lymphoma

The Cause:

Each January, my husband and I sit down to determine where we want to dedicate our time and resources for that particular year. We typically pick two organizations or committees that we feel passionate about and that we believe our time and financial contributions can really make an impact.

 This year, we were asked to join a neighbors team for the Man and Woman of Year Campaign through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). I will be honest, I did not know much about LSS but I of course knew plenty about cancer. I felt a tug that this was something I should pursue and so I joined several of my neighbors one Saturday afternoon for a presentation on what this campaign was all about. The representative from LSS shared facts about the foundation, stories about patients and researchers and then she showed the pictures of two beautiful children who are this year’s Children of the Year. That was all it took. As a mom of three, I decided then and there that I would do everything I could to support this team and raise money to put an end to this terrible disease.

Close to home:

I shared what I had learned with my husband Gash who jumped right in with ideas of how we could use our resources to meet our goal of $5,000 raised. You see, this past year we lost a very close family friend to cancer. One of those friends who was really family. Chip Grissom was a warrior, an inspiration, and a true example of what unwavering faith and kindness looks like. Each day, I read words from Chip that are framed in my office.

We joined this team in memory of Chip because while our hearts break for all those affected by cancer we have decided to “never give in and never give up” on a cure for cancer.  It is out there, we will find it, and this fundraising campaign CAN and WILL help! 

A Few Facts about LLS:

• Every 3 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Unlike other cancers, you cannot screen for or prevent most blood cancers. The only solution is to focus and fund on cures.

• A banner year FDA approvals for cancer treatments is when 2 (maybe 3 drugs) get through the approval system. However, 2017 and 2018 were historic years for blood cancer patients, with a total of 39 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals that will bring new treatment options to patients who urgently need them. LLS played a role in 34 of these advancements. This year marked a new era in the treatment of cancer:

• Two of these FDA Approvals were for LLS-funded CAR T-cell immunotherapies, helping to save lives by harnessing a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer.

• And, after four decades of little progress in treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), four new treatments were approved for AML patients.

• Currently there are clinical trials for the use of FDA approved blood cancer treatments on solid-tumor cancers such as brain, breast, kidney, liver, lung, prostate, and ovarian.

• Because of Campaigns like the Man and Woman of the Year, LLS is able to provide free information and counseling to help patients navigate their cancer journey. LSS provides rides for patients to and from treatment as well as uses donations to defray the costs of treatment related travel for a patient. Allowing patients access the best treatment possible for them, no matter where.

Join Us!

We are confident that the cure for cancer is out there and we believe that it will be through the generosity of those around us that the cure will be found. We have ALL been touched by Cancer in some form or fashion and I am sure we have all felt helpless in the fight against this terrible disease. I have chosen to take action, to hope and dream and do everything I can because I believe with all my heart that every prayer, every donation (no matter the size) and every person who chooses to fight WILL make an impact.

Will you join us? Check out @hookandgaff Instagram for a special give away in support of the LSS Foundation and the Man and Woman of the Year Campaign.

Here is the link to my fundraising page:
https://pages.mwoy.org/sc/upstate19/jclayton

More information on both LSS and the Man and Woman of the Year campaign can be found here:

https://www.lls.org/ and https://mwoy.org/