Barbara

Barbara’s relatively tranquil life in the Western Michigan lakeside town of Elberta changed dramatically in 2013, when she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL).  Her rural location soon presented significant challenges.

Barbara was initially treated at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, but then had to travel over 200 miles each way to University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor for a bone marrow transplant and a subsequent clinical trial. When Barbara’s cancer returned and she had to travel back to Ann Arbor to pursue more intensive therapies, The Blood Cancer Foundation of Michigan (BCFM) stepped in to support her by providing her with emotional support and travel reimbursement.

“From the very beginning, the people at BCFM were very friendly and more than willing to help, not only financially but emotionally,” Barbara said. “One of the counselors, Jennifer, kept in contact with me regularly. Her phone calls seemed to come when I needed them most.”