A few months ago, Elisabeth King set out to be the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Woman of the Year. King is an oncology nurse practitioner at Texas Oncology, already helping treat some of the million-plus Americans living with blood cancer. "I see these folks every day. And I see the success stories. And I see the people who have really benefitted from research,” said King.
It is for those reasons why King and her team tried to raise as much as possible in just ten short weeks. She admits asking people for money was a little awkward until she focused on who she was fighting for. "For patients, who need new treatments, need new treatments for their cancer. Or for my patient who has to decide between buying his family groceries and picking up his cancer drugs. Once I wrapped my head around that's who I'm asking money for, it became a lot easier,” said King. In the end, through mostly small donations, Elisabeth raised $115,000, securing her spot as the Austin area's runner up for Woman of the Year.
Between fundraising, working full time, and serving on the board of three nonprofits, it was a grueling ten weeks, but King has no regrets. "You know, it didn't feel like this is too much. I always felt like, how can I do more? How can I do more for my patients,” she said. Nationally, 2017's Man and Woman of the Year campaign raised more than $45 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To learn more, head to lls.org.