Posted by Kate on May 16, 2008, from Portland, Oregon
Community Partners: Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute
StoryCorps facilitators Cindy Murphy and Kate Wingate traveled to Portland, Oregon this week to conduct two days of Door-to-Door interviews in partnership with the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Cancer Institute. Ten years after the introduction of Gleevec, a drug used to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), OHSU sponsored StoryCorps’ visit in coordination with their GIST patient awareness week. As OHSU is a major center for the development of Gleevec, Kate and Cindy had the opportunity to record not only the stories of GIST and CML survivors, but also of the doctors and researchers who helped make their survival possible.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I am a GIST survivor and was honored to be able to attend the GIST presentation this year for the first time after being diagnosed in 2005 with this rare form of cancer. It was great to see the work they are doing at OHSU and to meet others who have been on the journey and who are fighting to find a cure for this illness. I look forward to returning back to Oregon next year and plan to return every year until a cure is find and I am cancer free.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Thanks for your comment, Tempest. It was an honor to facilitate the OHSU interviews and meet so many courageous, caring people. I wish you all the best!
Kate Wingate
StoryCorps Facilitator
May 30th, 2008 at 10:32 am
The view from the gondola looks incredible.