Circle of Hope

Back when he was 19, Trey was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer that affects the immune system. Trey's experience with his nurses while he was in treatment inspired him to go to nursing school. Now he works in the blood and marrow transplant unit at HCI.

Samuel Cheshier, MD, PhD, and the Neurologic Cancers Center team at Huntsman Cancer Institute are working to find better treatments for brain cancer, particularly pediatric brain cancer. Many primary brain tumors are incurable from the start, and currently, none are curable once they recur. The need for novel, effective therapies is critical. In 2020, the Engelstad Foundation funded a $100,000 grant at HCI to study a potential immunotherapy treatment for pediatric brain tumors.

I was 16 when I first heard the term downwinder. I didn’t know what it meant, just that my beloved grandma was one. As an adult, I learned it referred to the people who lived down wind of the nuclear testing in Nevada. They had been exposed to high levels of radiation and many were diagnosed with cancer because of it. It meant the small town my grandmother adored and raised her children in was to blame for her cancer diagnosis.

Two years before her cancer diagnosis, Laura began experiencing chronic digestive problems and abdominal pain. These symptoms can indicate many different diseases, and given that she was in her 30s, cancer seemed unlikely. It took four misdiagnoses, one removed gall bladder, and the continued vigilance of both Laura and her husband, Bryce to learn that Laura’s ongoing pain and discomfort was actually ovarian cancer.

I am a downwinder. Like many Americans, I grew up under the clouds of fallout from nuclear testing. My hope is those of us who understand the tragedy of nuclear weapons demand that the mistakes of the past never be repeated. If we learned anything from being the involuntary subjects of atomic testing, it is that we all live downwind.

The HPV vaccine can prevent several different types of cancer. Access to and education about the HPV vaccine has never been more important. Kelly Sugihara, a coordinator for Wyoming Cancer Resource Services, works with clinics, state leaders, schools, public health professionals, dentists, and others over a 25, 672 mile area to increase accessibility and education about the HPV vaccine.

In 2015, Rich and Vicki Linton lost their beloved daughter-in-law, Alisa, after a prolonged battle with an aggressive form of melanoma. The entire Linton family is committed to help HCI eradicate cancer from the face of the earth. They are passionate about funding research so that one day, no one else will be lost to this horrible disease.

Lily Helzer, MPH, is the chronic disease prevention and health promotion section manager of Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services. She lives in Reno, Nevada, and works in collaboration with the Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and the Nevada Cancer Coalition to bring communities and partner organizations together to reduce the burden of cancer across Nevada.