On Saturday, May 3rd, I had the opportunity to go to the George Washington Cancer Institute Fifth Annual Gala at the National Building Museum. The National Building Museum (you can take a tour- http://www.nbm.org) is incredible and the Gala was absolutely beautiful.
The Gala honored a few individuals who have helped the fight against cancer.
Sean Swarner received the Spirit of Life Award and here is what they wrote about him.
“Sean Swarner isn’t just a cancer survivor; he is truly a medical marvel. The only person in the world ever to have been diagnosed with both Hodgkin’s disease and Askin’s sarcoma, and not expected to live into his teens, Swarner defied all odds. A decade after completing treatment, and with only partial use of his lungs, he became famous for being the first cancer survivor to summit Mount Everest.”
Sean gave a moving speech and at the end he had everyone who had been personally touched by cancer to stand up and accept the award with him. I stood for my mom and for all the other people I know whose lives have been changed by cancer. As I looked around the room, I got a bit choked up looking at all the people who were standing with me.
One of the other recipients was South African apartheid activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He received the award because he has promoted early detection cancer screenings in many African countries with great success. He is currently fighting prostate cancer for the second time. He was very funny and so happy. When he spoke, you could hear a pin drop. It was a fantastic night.
