My Story

My name is Todd Oakes (T.O.) – I am the pitching coach for the U of M Gopher Baseball team.  This is my 18th year at the U of M after spending 15 years in professional baseball with the SF Giants as a minor league player and coach.  My wife Terri and I have been married for 33+ years and we have three sons – Tyler (28), TJ (24), and Tanner (22).  We reside in Jordan MN.

In June of 2012, I was diagnosed with AML – acute myeloid leukemia – cancer of the blood.  After the initial shock went away, I was admitted to the UMMC-Fairview Hospital.  I spent a total of 80 days in the hospital that summer and fall and underwent multiple rounds of chemo and radiation and had a stem cell transplant in September.  My brother Jerald was my match and donor and I received 5.1 million healthy stem cells from him.  This transplant and the great care I received from my medical team put me in remission for over 2 years. 

In November of 2014, the leukemia returned and my family and I prepared our hearts and minds for another battle with this disease.  After a total of 31 days in the hospital, including more chemo and a donor lymphocyte infusion, I regained remission for a second time. This period of remission lasted only 10 months and this past September the leukemia returned.  So my family and I will put the boxing gloves back on and fight another round.  Faith - Family - Friends will be our foundation as it always has been.   

I have been actively involved with LLS since my battle with leukemia.  I have been blessed and fortunate to hear the word remission twice – something a lot of cancer patients never get to hear once.  I want to give back to LLS and blood cancer research and give an opportunity for more patients to hear the word remission.  In the spring of 2014, I was a candidate for the LLS Man of the Year campaign.  Team T.O. raised a total of $75,000 and finished in 3rd place – by far the best 3rd place finish I have ever had.  Even more humbling was the fact that a team of 13 male and female candidates for the award raised almost $750,000.  It was an amazing and awesome experience.  I am now on the Board of Trustees for the local Minnesota Chapter for LLS and will continue to support them through fundraising.  We need more research; we need more approved chemo drugs and treatment protocol; and we need more resources to finance this. 

An integral part of my campaign last spring included a Strikeout Cancer fundraiser.  I received an overwhelming response from the baseball community who gave me great support. In partner with LLS, I am now motivated to sponsor and organize a Strikeout Cancer campaign on an annual basis. 

Please consider joining Team T.O. in our Strikeout Cancer campaign and make a donation today!  Thank you for your support!

No One Fights Alone!

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For over 65 years LLS has invested more than $1 billion to advance cancer therapies and save lives.

Last year alone, LLS invested nearly $79.8 million in cutting-edge research. And many LLS-supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients, but are now used to treat patients with other forms of cancers as well.  Nearly 40% of new cancer therapies approved by the FDA between 2000 and 2014 were first approved for blood cancer patients.

We really are changing the face of blood cancer! 

Please visit our Web site often to check our progress and invite friends who would also like to donate!

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, we thank you for your support!

For more information about LLS, please visit lls.org 

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"We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other.  If you are always there for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you"

- Jeff Warner 

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Gopher Baseball and LLS Unite for StrikeOut Cancer The Minnesota baseball team joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in its effort to "Strike Out Cancer" over the weekend

Together, Gopher baseball and LLS raised over $7,000 for Strikeout Cancer during the Minnesota-Nebraska football game last Saturday.

Oct. 20, 2015

The Minnesota baseball team joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in its effort to "Strike Out Cancer" over the weekend. The entire Gophers team and representatives from the LLS took to the tailgate lots before the Minnesota-Nebraska football game last Saturday to promote awareness and fundraise for the goal of finding a cure.

At the end of the day, the event raised over $7,000 and was given to the LLS in current pitching coach Todd Oakes' name as he takes on cancer for the third time.

"I have only known Todd Oakes since he was diagnosed with leukemia for the first time," said LLS Executive Director Teri Cannon. "He is a fighter and we're all rallying to lift him up."

Oakes has made a major impact for LLS, having raised $75,000 during a previous 10-week campaign. Since then, "Strike Out Cancer" has become an annual event.

"He is a wonderful man with a gift of compassion and generosity."

Oakes had ties to both universities that were competing as he played collegiately for the Huskers from 1982-83.

"I am extremely humbled and grateful for the time and effort the Gopher Baseball team put in last Saturday before the football game to help raise funds and awareness for our Strikeout Cancer campaign and LLS," said Oakes. "This money will fund blood cancer research that will give hope to other blood cancer patients."

For more information on ways you can help, please visit www.StrikeOutCancerMN.org.

"It takes a team effort like everything else - no one fights alone!"