Donnalyn Giegerich and Tom Zapcic thought they were done with cancer after Donnalyn overcame her own diagnosis. But six months later, in April 2008, Tom was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. His doctors referred him to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and its Patient Navigation Center. There he received information about his disease and diagnosis and found a community that supported him through several difficult years of treatment.
At one point, Tom was given only six months to live—but the MMRF’s efforts to accelerate new treatments enabled Tom to gain access to the two drugs that would help him defy medical expectations and save his life. “They put the muscle behind the process of bringing new treatments to patients,” Tom said of the MMRF. “There is no other organization that has helped get 13 new drugs approved in 15 years. You just don’t see that.” Still in remission, Tom is living an active life. In fact, he’s award-winning; he is a 3-time medalist at national pickleball tournaments and recently qualified to go to next year’s Senior Olympics.
In the months after the COVID-19 pandemic, Donnalyn and Tom revisited their will. They decided to allocate a percentage of their estate, via a charitable trust, to support the MMRF and advance the research developing better, more precise treatments for patients. “We made a planned gift to the MMRF because they gave me back my life and my quality of life, and we wanted to help do that for others too.”
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