Thank you to everyone who has donated to date! I am so touched by friends from near and far contributing to LLS.  As of today, 2/7/19, Team Answer for Cancer has raised 46% of their initial goal of $36,000 and they are 28% of the way to their stretch goal of $60,000.  We still have a long way to go and we only have about 3 weeks left to raise the money.  The end of the Student of the Year campaign is March 1st.  Spread the word to your friends and family members about this incredible cause.  Share on your social media sites.  Thank you again for your incredible support! Check out Jason's fundraising page (where you can read about Jason's motivation and see many additional donations and comments from friends and family around the country: https://events.lls.org/sd/SDSOY19/jwexler

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am incredibly proud to be able to support my son, Jason Wexler, in his desire to raise money for an amazing cause: the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).  Jason wants to raise as much money as he can for LLS as part of the 2019 Student of the Year (SOY) program.  His SOY team name is ANSWER FOR CANCER.  The SOY program runs for 7 weeks and encourages select high school students from around the country to participate in a fundraising competition to benefit LLS.  The goal is for teams to raise as much money as possible in order to find cures for blood cancers and support patients and their families.  I couldn’t feel more passionate about a cause.  Whose life hasn’t been impacted by this horrible disease?

Like many of you, I’ve been touched by cancer in some way. I’ve lost family members to breast and lung cancer. I know many who continue to fight the flight, whether it’s against a bloodborne cancer or pancreatic cancer.  Right now, I’m especially inspired to raise money in honor of my cousin in Los Angeles, who has received treatment for Leukemia and for my childhood friend’s 17-year-old daughter, who was also diagnosed with Leukemia and recently finished her last round of chemo.  In addition, I do this in honor of my children’s close friend, who recently lost her father to Lymphoma. I could go on and on. It’s time to find a cure! 

Our mission is to not only raise the most money, but also to bring attention to blood cancers like Leukemia, which is the most common form of cancer in children and teens.  Since the early 1960s, five-year survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled. And many LLS-supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients, but they also help patients with other cancers and serious diseases.  In fact, drugs first approved for blood cancers are now approved to treat patients with stomach cancers, skin cancers, and autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis, a disease I have suffered from since my early 20s.

I am writing to ask you for your support of Team Answer for Cancer by making a generous donation to LLS. 

The team leaders from the team who raise the most money are awarded the title of Students of the Year!  Jason, along with his co-leaders Shayna Meltzer and Jordy Chowaiki, have put together a team that is fired up and ready to eradicate cancer. We have 7 weeks (until March 2nd) to raise as much money as possible. While it would be great for Jason, Shayna, and Jordy to win the Student of the Year campaign in San Diego, remember that we all win when cancer loses! 

All donations are greatly appreciated and they are tax deductible.  Your donation not only supports LLS-funded research, but it also helps provide critical information and support for patients, and it supports advocacy for laws to ensure patients can access the care and treatments they need.

Please visit our website often and share with friends who would also like to donate!

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support! Thank you for helping be the Answer for Cancer!

Sherri Wexler

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.

P.S. If you'd like to visit Jason's fundraising page, go to: https://events.lls.org/sd/SDSOY19/jwexler

                                Shayna, Jason, and Jordy