Since you are reading this story, you are already taking advantage of one of our many programs for people whose lives have been touched by cancer. In addition, we hope you are availing yourself of all of the many American Cancer Society programs offered both locally and nationally. One family, the Dreers, has done just that.

The Society’s Web site empowered the Dreers

In March 2007, when Patrick and Allison Dreer’s son, Jim, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the Dreers were understandably shocked. Their reaction was not unexpected: “This can’t happen to us; this is something that happens to someone else.”

Like all parents, Patrick and Allison jumped into a race to save Jim’s life. They began looking at a variety of different Web sites, including the American Cancer Society Web site, at www.cancer.org.“The Society's Web site had loads and loads of information about all types of cancer," says Patrick. "We were able to understand cancer, but we were also able to understand the concept of leukemia and how it affects children.”

The Dreers credit the Society with giving them the foundation they needed to get started, saying that the Society’s resources were “phenomenal.” “We truly feel that we owe it to the Society for all the things that they’ve done, in terms of their research, their support, and the resources that they made available to us to help keep our son Jim alive,” Patrick says.

Today, Jim Dreer is in remission. While he still makes monthly visits to his oncologist, these visits will gradually be reduced to one a year.

The Dreers are involved in another race, too. Relay For Life^®

Like so many families of cancer survivors, the Dreers work to help others still fighting the fight. They work very hard to, as Patrick puts it, “make sure that flow of money and flow of support continues.”

One way they do this is by their participation each year in Relay For Life, the signature event of the American Cancer Society, where the community of cancer survivors and the community of people still fighting the disease come together.

“We need to show our support so that people know they’re not going through this alone,” Patrick says. “We want to let them know that we’re there for them, that we can do whatever we can to help them. It’s like a large family reunion.”

The Dreers ARE the American Cancer Society

They are only one family, but fortunately, there are thousands more like them across the country – people who have taken advantage of the Society’s resources and are now giving back.

We hope that you and your loved one are taking full advantage of the many Society resources right now. We’ll be there for you until the day that, like the Dreers, you become part of the community that gives back. That’s what the American Cancer Society is all about.