It's with sadness that I write today about Donald Wilhelm a friend who passed away peacefully with his wife Amy at his side September 13 2010. Don was a 4x Hodgkin survivor when he wrote his book This Times a Charm, Lessons of a 4x cancer survivor. His book has been an inspiration to many in this battle.
I am adding links to Don's book and website to this, something I should have already done but hadn't gotten around to yet.
As a 4x survivor myself I have followed Don's journey very closely. I actually talked to him on the phone a month or so ago, shortly after his Fox 2 Weekend news interview on National Cancer Survivors Day. He had mentioned to me at that time he had wished they had given him more than the 4 minutes they allotted to him.
One of the struggles he faced was trying to be part of a clinical trial. He had researched and done everything he could to try to get in on the trial of SGN-35 and felt it held promise for him. I truly believe that if the "rules" regarding the trial were different he may just have had a chance.
You can bet I'll be looking into the "rules" and advocating for change, along with many others I am sure.
So I take this time say goodbye to a dear friend and fellow warrior, someone who put others before himself and to his wife Amy and his family I extend my and Brenda's deepest condolences on your loss, there are no words that could possibly express what you are going through at this time.
Below is Don's final Facebook status,
I’ve filled my original goal here on earth. It was to spend the remainder of my life helping cancer patients. It seems to be where I found the greatest joy and the most sense of worth. I’m moving up into the next roll. I’ll leave my faithful followers to slip in and fill the gaps. Love to you all and positive energy, Don Wilhelm (Don entered into Hospice care as of Weds.)
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