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Meet This Year's Recipients
In 2007 we awarded a total of $75,000 in grants and scholarships to 31 young adult survivors all over the country. These grants and scholarships covered a wide range of needs, including rent, tuition, car insurance, residual medical bills, student loans and prescription co-pays.
Please help us to award even more next year by making a donation.
The SAMFund and our past and future recipients thank you for your continued support!
"I do not feel that I am alive despite my cancer, but because of it. My cancer saved my life. It taught me to never give up and how to wring every last moment of satisfaction from every day I am alive. My experience with cancer taught me how to access my strength and placed a new perspective on my fears. I did not ask for my life to be interrupted by cancer. However, I am grateful for the push it gave me to step outside of my safe and comfortable life and choose to become the kind of person who has the courage to reach for the stars."
"[After cancer treatment] my doctor had advised that I needed to stay home and rest and let my body recover; it had been very hard on it lately, he warned. So, I stayed home against my will for the next 4 months... I was drowning in bills. Since I was diagnosed in November I had met my deductible and out-of-pocket maximum for 2004 and then again in 2005. I was starting to wonder if it would have been easier if I had just died. I couldn't handle all of the doctor offices and collection agencies calling me. Didn't they understand, I didn't ask for cancer and I wasn't a horrible human being for not being able to pay?
Erin D, 28-year old survivor of lymphoma "I hope that with some financial assistance from The SAMFund, I will be able to stop overworking myself so that I can reduce my stress level, concentrate on my studies for the next year and move on to the next phase in my life, education, and work... Receiving a grant from The SAMFund would lighten my load some and enable me to fulfill my goals of giving back to my community and the cancer research/treatment community as well as help me to continue my education. Regardless of who is selected, I would like to add that The SAMFund organization provides great comfort to those who have survived cancer. It's nice to know that other do realize that there is more to the battle against cancer than enduring painful treatment, changes in body composition and losing one's hair. There are many mental and emotional issues to deal with even after physical ones have been overcome, and your organization is one of few that I have encountered that focuses on these. It's important to realize that merely surviving is not enough... we need to get back to living and thriving, not merely existing, and that is a challenge entirely its own."
"My biggest challenge of being a cancer survivor has to be dealing with constant interruptions to a "normal" life. Missing out on many social functions because of infection or migraines or doctor's appointments or surgery, as well as missing many days of work and school and struggling to keep up with the class, has been physically and emotionally difficult... Assistance from The SAMFund will enable me to get the medical workup I need to hopefully cure or at least control my frequent severe migraines, which will enable me to focus on my educational goals and ultimately fulfill my career goals and dreams."
"With the scholarships and grants [from The SAMFund], I'll have the chance to get on with the business of living, which is infinitely more interesting than being sick... With this financial boost, I'll be back to living better, less shackled to bills and the almost unbearable financial pressure that came with diagnosis.
"I am requesting financial assistance so that I can pursue my education and my goals of performing. The funds would be used to pay for my living and educational expenses. My family support is strong but financially things have been tight. Between the doctor's bills and unemployment, I have had to take out many student loans... I would use these funds to pursue my dreams. The financial assistance from The SAMFund will allow me to move forward in that I will have less financial stress and debt so that I can concentrate on my goals. I know that I have been giving back to the community ever since I was diagnosed...I hope to continue supporting others and make people aware of testicular cancer."
"Unfortunately, I am unable to attend school full-time and be employed. I have to dedicate such a tremendous amount of time and work to achieve high grades in my classes that I do not have enough time or energy left to be employed. Therefore, the costs of tuition and school expenses are a huge burden... As a recipient of a scholarship from The SAMFund, I would apply all awarded funds directly toward my current educational expenses."
"I have trouble forcing myself to continue follow-up care... I go back [to the hospital] for a check-up each year and every year I have different problems, not with my health, but with insurance... I went in for my check-up July 1, 2004 and I am still paying the hospital off...
"After finishing treatment and looking back at what I have been through this past year, I've learned that cancer has actually affected my life in a very positive way. I have learned far one can really go with a positive attitude. I feel that I have opened up and grown more as a person, which has given me the ability to use my experience to reach out to others by becoming an advocate in the cancer community... I've gained a perspective that's different than my peers'. My biggest challenge right now as a cancer survivor is the question, 'Where do I go from here?'"
"The ability to live independently has helped me to regain my sense of self-sufficiency and normalcy. However, these expenses are rapidly depleting my current financial resources. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to request help from The SAMFund. With financial assistance I am confident that I can reach my goal of using my hard-won knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a cancer survivor to make a difference in the lives of current and future oncology patients.... 'Surviving and moving forward' has a different meaning for each cancer survivor. For me it means facing the storm, knowing that there are people beside me who are willing to help. It means facing each day with hope and a commitment to myself to learn the hard lessons and remain faithful to my goals."
"Receiving an education is key to reaching my goals and being successful in life. With assistance from The SAMFund, I will be able to pay for the expenses that come with an education. Life after graduation will be tough enough without the extra burden of paying back student loans. Since I have a young son, my greatest fear is not being able to provide for him. [The] SAMFund will give me the financial boost I need to ensure my family's sustainability. Assistance from [The] SAMFund will also give me the self-confidence I need to find my dream job."
"Financial assistance from The SAMFund will help me move forward with my life beyond my cancer treatment and also give me some peace of mind. I have held a job since I was 16 years told and I was always taught in order to get things and do the things I want to do, I would have to earn my own money...
"One of the hardest things about being sick is the financial side. In my case I can't go to work for at least another year because of the medications I'm on, so basically we lost my income and our living expenses went up drastically because of all of the medical expenses. Financial from the SAMFund would help me to go back to school which would help me to reach my goal of becoming a Social Worker. It would also help me to pay my medical bills and prescription costs that create a monthly financial burden...
Kairene P, 23-year old survivor of lymphoma "I want to help out youth and keep them on the path to continuing their education. I know that being a teacher will definitely provide me that opportunity. With my new career I will also be a great role model to my children and a wonderful example to other youth going through the cancer struggle. I want to provide for my family with a promising and secure career... I cannot accomplish a lot of my future goals without school. That is why I need money [from The SAMFund] to finish."
"Why am I requesting funds? With the onset of cancer I accumulated some financial debt due to my inability to work and gain income, [which] has limited my resources... I work two jobs and still find it a struggle to maintain good grades and the bills at the same time.
Brittany R, 21-year old survivor of leukemia "Through my academic studies, I hope to prove to myself that I'm a capable person. I hope to show myself that I'm able to do more than I thought I could, that I'm stronger than I thought, and most importantly, that I have just as much ability as anyone else to be successfully on my own without relying on others to make it happen. I'm really looking forward to this new start and am so glad that I found The SAMFund to help me achieve this goal. Stepping into my future, I can be powerful, courageous and inspiring. I will be a determined, confident, and dedicated adult. Thank you SAMFund for helping to make a difference, not only in my world, but in all the lives that I will continue to touch."
Debra S, 29-year old survivor of Synovial Sarcoma
"[My] chemo treatment plan was very intensive and I became very sick at times. During this my youngest child was three months old so my husband had to tend to the baby plus me, which had him out of work... I had to refinance my house in order to pay for the hospital bills that were not covered by my insurance... I remember one time I was having treatment and I didn't pay the electric bill. I was very sick from the treatment and still had to pay bills but first I had to concentrate on getting better. The company was going to shut our business down. No one understood what I was going through.
"A strange calculus runs through my head whenever considering long-term plans. I strongly believe I'll be around for the foreseeable future, so I now think about having a family, my career and what I want out of life. I live in the moment, but I don't live exclusively for the moment. Once you become accustomed to the idea of living for more than the next couple months, you must once again realign your priorities. Recognizing my mortality yet not letting it control my life may be the biggest 'gift' I can take from this experience; finding the right balance is survivorship's biggest challenge.
"I am battling my own mind, body and soul. It would be really nice if I didn't have to battle my checkbook too... If I get this funding, it will enable me to take a breath every now and then. I will be able to look forward, and not wonder who will be constantly calling about an overdue bill. I will be able to feel happy that I am alive, and not feel guilty because of the burden that my illness has and will cost...
"I have been facing cancer challenges for six and a half years now and one
of the biggest ones has been trying to maintain my strength... Another
challenge that I am facing as a cancer survivor is getting back into the
world of the living and redefining my sense of 'normal' life. This is
especially challenging because of the post-treatment side effects that I am
experiencing that are inhibiting my ability to move forward in my life...
Assistance from The SAMFund will enable me to move beyond the significant
side effects of leukemia treatment... 
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Dayna A, 26-year old survivor of ovarian cancer
Courtney B, 27-year old survivor of papillary carcinoma
Daniel E, 19-year old survivor of neuroblastoma
Stephen G, 29-year old survivor of multiple myeloma
Brian G, 22-year old survivor of testicular cancer
Catherine H, 20-year old survivor of medulloblastoma
Jessica K, 26-year old survivor of Ewing's Sarcoma
Andrea M, 21-year old survivor of lymphoma
Kathryn M, 24-year old survivor of osteosarcoma
Sarah M, 21-year old survivor of follicular thyroid cancer
Hailey N, 28-year old survivor of leukemia
Brandy P, 30-year old survivor of Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Rita R, 21-year old survivor of lymphoma
Adam T, 26-year old survivor of medulloblastoma
Kaye W, 32-year old survivor of Ewing's Sarcoma
Tanya W, 33-year old survivor of leukemia