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Cancer Survivors Celebrate Life

“There are two ways to live your life. One is though nothing is a miracle, the other is though everything is a miracle.” - Albert Einstein

From left, Rani Anné, MD, Joy Soleiman, Thom Holden, Catherine Coleman, Brian Costello, Lora Rhodes.

Catherine Coleman, Director of Product Development for ImactRx, Inc. of Mt. Laurel, NJ, and a two-time cancer survivor, quoted those words in her speech to a full house at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson’s fifth annual Celebration of Life. She also thanked her own personal Jefferson “miracle workers.”

Ms. Coleman spoke about her experiences as a cancer survivor, the changes she has made and ways she has grown since her initial cancer diagnosis in June 1995 and subsequent diagnosis in July of 1997. 

Another cancer survivor, Thom Holden, founder of Thom & Dave Marketing Design and the White Birch Gallery, an arts venue in Media, PA, recalled how his passion for art and music inspired him as he underwent treatment at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Mr. Holden personalized his hospital room with favorite paintings by his wife, and derived comfort from listening to his favorite music. A four-year survivor of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Mr. Holden also shared poetry that he wrote during his cancer treatment.

Rani Anné, MD, Delivers Keynote Address
Rani Anné, MD, a Jefferson Hospital radiation oncologist and Instructor of Radiation Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, delivered the event’s keynote address, “Finding Hope in the Face of Cancer.” Dr. Anné paid tribute to her late aunt, a patient with ovarian cancer who defied her original prognosis long enough to see her daughter graduate from medical school by finding and enrolling in a life-prolonging clinical trial. 

The Celebration this year, attended by more than 200 cancer survivors and their families, featured an interactive Health Expo in which staff from the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine, genetic counselors from the Jefferson Hereditary Cancer Center, clinical trials specialists, social workers and representatives from community organizations serving cancer patients provided information and demonstrations. In addition, the event displayed artwork by cancer survivors. 

Cancer survivor Brian Costello, Director of Human Resources Operations, Thomas Jefferson University, a speaker at least year’s event, introduced this year’s speakers.