NWR - October Bride fighting cancer!!
Ladies, I know this is NWR but this is a situation in dire need of attention. Attached is a call for help for a Barnard College grad, Pia Awal, who is fighting Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). I bring this tragic story to your attention in this forum as Pia is set to be a bride this October and who better to help than the LIW girls!
Pia and I not only attended Barnard at the same time, but also were friends in grade school from Kindergarten through middle school. Pia and I are both have June birthdays, and on several occasions had joint birthday parties, full of ice cream and giggles. Pia was always better at math than I was, and always helped me with my fourth grade homework assignments! In a rather fitting way Pia moved on from teaching me fractions to a formal career in education after graduating from Barnard. She is an amazing person, and does not deserve this. Although she and I have not kept in touch as much over the years I feel compelled to do *something* in light of this terrible tragedy. I am forwarding this along in the hopes that it will inspire all to register with the bone marrow registry, South Asian Decent or not. While I can't be a match for Pia I have made an appointment to register with the bone marrow registry. Perhaps there is someone out there, like Pia, who I can help. Please pass this along as you see fit. We need to find a match for Pia, as well as for everyone else fighting this horrible disease.
Pia's News Story
wrote:
Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2004 12:39:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Barnard College
To: Class of 1997
Subject: A classmate in need
===========================================================================
This message is being sent to you because of your affiliation with Barnard College.
Visit Barnard's On-Line Community at URL http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/BAR/.
===========================================================================
Although the College does not usually send e-mails that are of a personal nature, we thought the urgency of this request merited your attention.
Dear Classmate,
As you may know, a classmate of ours, Pia Awal, was recently diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and is in immediate need of a stem-cell blood or bone marrow transplant. Pia was initially diagnosed with AML two years ago, which was successfully treated by March 2003 when she was declared cancer-free. A few weeks ago, she learned that the cancer is back.
Doctors say that her best chance for surviving this relapse is an aggressive round of chemotherapy, followed by a stem-cell transplant. Healthy stem-cells from donor blood will be inserted into her body to regenerate healthy blood cells after her own blood cells have been destroyed by chemotherapy. You may find more information about Pia and her fight against cancer here: http://matchpia.blogspot.com/.
To date, Pia has been unable to find a related match for the stem-call transplant. At present, only less than 0.1 % of the South Asian population is registered with the Worldwide Bone Marrow Registry, with only 5,000 people registered in USA. Hence, whenever a South Asian person needs a stem-cell or bone marrow transplant, it becomes extremely difficult to find the right match for him or her.
There are a number of ways that you can help:
1) Attend a blood test drive conducted by Pia's friends and family over the next two weeks. They are held in Manhattan, Queens, and New Jersey to help find a match for her. All it takes is someone to be of South Asian (Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi) origin, between 18-61 years old, and in generally good health. The registration process is harmless and involves only having a small amount of blood drawn. If the blood match is successful, the donor will be asked to donate stem cells extracted from their blood, to save Pia's life. All donors will be entered into the National Registry where they may be called upon to help someone else, if not Pia.
2) Get HLA tested at one of the blood drives, a local blood center or American Red Cross even if you are not of South Asian descent. You may be able to save someone else's life.
3) Pass this e-mail onto friends and family. The more people who get tested, the more lives you may be able to help.
We make this appeal to each of you to save a life that holds hope and promise for the future. Please attend one of the drives being conducted in your area and get tested. You can also get HLA tested at your local Blood Center or American Red Cross. It is never too early, but it can be too late to wait. It only takes one to make a match. For additional information, please email [email protected] or call (646) 262-7032.
Thank you,
The 1997 Class Officers
Blood Test Drives for Pia will take place at three convenient locations in Manhattan, New Jersey, and Queens from July 6 to July 11, 2004.
MANHATTAN
Tuesday July 6th 10am - 4pm
Thursday July 8th 3pm - 8pm
All Souls Church Chapel
1157 Lexington Avenue
(bet. 79-80th St.)
Info: (212) 737-2469
(646) 262-7032
QUEENS
Thursday July 8th 2pm - 4pm
Saturday July 10th 12 noon - 4pm
SAMAR
55-13 96th Street,
Flushing, NY 11368
Info: (718) 592-0821
or [email protected]
NEW JERSEY
Saturday July 3rd 10 am - 4pm
Sunday July 4th 10am - 4pm
FOKANA
Garden State Convention
& Exhibit Center
Somerset, NJ 08873
Info: (718) 592-0821
or [email protected]
Saturday July 10th
12 noon - 7 pm
Sunday July 11th
12 noon - 7pm
INDIA MELA
Soccer Center, 300
Memorial Drive,
Somerset, NJ 08873
ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA (AML) BASICS
AML is a cancer of the blood. It is a disease where immature white blood cells reproduce at an alarming rate. Unable to fight infection through the production of healthy blood cells, the body suffers from intense fatigue, bone pain, nausea, low platelet count (leading to compromised clotting ability), and low immunity. For more information, visit:
www.marrow.org/MEDICAL/aml.html
www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/5427.cfm
www.samarinfo.org
www.marrow.org/PATIENT/basics.html
Pia and I not only attended Barnard at the same time, but also were friends in grade school from Kindergarten through middle school. Pia and I are both have June birthdays, and on several occasions had joint birthday parties, full of ice cream and giggles. Pia was always better at math than I was, and always helped me with my fourth grade homework assignments! In a rather fitting way Pia moved on from teaching me fractions to a formal career in education after graduating from Barnard. She is an amazing person, and does not deserve this. Although she and I have not kept in touch as much over the years I feel compelled to do *something* in light of this terrible tragedy. I am forwarding this along in the hopes that it will inspire all to register with the bone marrow registry, South Asian Decent or not. While I can't be a match for Pia I have made an appointment to register with the bone marrow registry. Perhaps there is someone out there, like Pia, who I can help. Please pass this along as you see fit. We need to find a match for Pia, as well as for everyone else fighting this horrible disease.
Pia's News Story
wrote:
Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2004 12:39:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Barnard College
To: Class of 1997
Subject: A classmate in need
===========================================================================
This message is being sent to you because of your affiliation with Barnard College.
Visit Barnard's On-Line Community at URL http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/BAR/.
===========================================================================
Although the College does not usually send e-mails that are of a personal nature, we thought the urgency of this request merited your attention.
Dear Classmate,
As you may know, a classmate of ours, Pia Awal, was recently diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and is in immediate need of a stem-cell blood or bone marrow transplant. Pia was initially diagnosed with AML two years ago, which was successfully treated by March 2003 when she was declared cancer-free. A few weeks ago, she learned that the cancer is back.
Doctors say that her best chance for surviving this relapse is an aggressive round of chemotherapy, followed by a stem-cell transplant. Healthy stem-cells from donor blood will be inserted into her body to regenerate healthy blood cells after her own blood cells have been destroyed by chemotherapy. You may find more information about Pia and her fight against cancer here: http://matchpia.blogspot.com/.
To date, Pia has been unable to find a related match for the stem-call transplant. At present, only less than 0.1 % of the South Asian population is registered with the Worldwide Bone Marrow Registry, with only 5,000 people registered in USA. Hence, whenever a South Asian person needs a stem-cell or bone marrow transplant, it becomes extremely difficult to find the right match for him or her.
There are a number of ways that you can help:
1) Attend a blood test drive conducted by Pia's friends and family over the next two weeks. They are held in Manhattan, Queens, and New Jersey to help find a match for her. All it takes is someone to be of South Asian (Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi) origin, between 18-61 years old, and in generally good health. The registration process is harmless and involves only having a small amount of blood drawn. If the blood match is successful, the donor will be asked to donate stem cells extracted from their blood, to save Pia's life. All donors will be entered into the National Registry where they may be called upon to help someone else, if not Pia.
2) Get HLA tested at one of the blood drives, a local blood center or American Red Cross even if you are not of South Asian descent. You may be able to save someone else's life.
3) Pass this e-mail onto friends and family. The more people who get tested, the more lives you may be able to help.
We make this appeal to each of you to save a life that holds hope and promise for the future. Please attend one of the drives being conducted in your area and get tested. You can also get HLA tested at your local Blood Center or American Red Cross. It is never too early, but it can be too late to wait. It only takes one to make a match. For additional information, please email [email protected] or call (646) 262-7032.
Thank you,
The 1997 Class Officers
Blood Test Drives for Pia will take place at three convenient locations in Manhattan, New Jersey, and Queens from July 6 to July 11, 2004.
MANHATTAN
Tuesday July 6th 10am - 4pm
Thursday July 8th 3pm - 8pm
All Souls Church Chapel
1157 Lexington Avenue
(bet. 79-80th St.)
Info: (212) 737-2469
(646) 262-7032
QUEENS
Thursday July 8th 2pm - 4pm
Saturday July 10th 12 noon - 4pm
SAMAR
55-13 96th Street,
Flushing, NY 11368
Info: (718) 592-0821
or [email protected]
NEW JERSEY
Saturday July 3rd 10 am - 4pm
Sunday July 4th 10am - 4pm
FOKANA
Garden State Convention
& Exhibit Center
Somerset, NJ 08873
Info: (718) 592-0821
or [email protected]
Saturday July 10th
12 noon - 7 pm
Sunday July 11th
12 noon - 7pm
INDIA MELA
Soccer Center, 300
Memorial Drive,
Somerset, NJ 08873
ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA (AML) BASICS
AML is a cancer of the blood. It is a disease where immature white blood cells reproduce at an alarming rate. Unable to fight infection through the production of healthy blood cells, the body suffers from intense fatigue, bone pain, nausea, low platelet count (leading to compromised clotting ability), and low immunity. For more information, visit:
www.marrow.org/MEDICAL/aml.html
www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/5427.cfm
www.samarinfo.org
www.marrow.org/PATIENT/basics.html
