Debbie's Story

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, in 2010, my wife, Debbie, was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). The first couple of years, she was in a "wait and see" stage with regular blood work and oncology visits. However, in 2014, her counts had worsened, and she began a series of infusions of Rituxan along with oral chemotherapy. The one-two punch brought her blood counts back to normal with virtually no side effects. 

Debbie was able to discontinue the infusions but continued with her blood draws and oncology visits. As new drugs were approved by the FDA, her oral chemotherapy changed. Each of them worked as expected, again, with no side effects. 

Fast forward to 2022 when, again, Debbie's blood counts started rising. With each monthly oncology visit, they continued to worsen. In January 2023, her oncologist decided to begin treatment and switch her oral medications. In March, Debbie began a series of 10 infusions of Obinutuzumab along with Venetoclax, an oral chemotherapy. These new drugs produced immediate positive results with virtually no side effects. 

Debbie will continue the infusions through August 2023 and remain on the oral chemotherapy through April 2024. Regular blood work and oncology visits will continue also. After that, she will be reevaluated.

Many of you also know that we hosted the very successful Debbie Gray Golf Classic for 10 years, ending in 2017. During that time, we raised over $200,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). With Debbie’s new developments, I’ve decided to team with a friend of mine who ran his own successful tournament called Links for Leukemia. Together, we’re calling our new event Debbie Gray’s Links for Leukemia. This tournament honors Debbie's courage and spirit in her fight against CLL. The good news is, thanks to generous supporters like you, Debbie has been able to control her blood cancer without having to sacrifice her quality of life. Too many other blood cancer patients are not as fortunate. 

Our hope is, the funds raised by the Debbie Gray's Links for Leukemia golf tournament will help support LLS's mission and provide researchers with the resources needed to find a cure for all blood cancers. 

We hope you can join us for a fun day on the golf course and help us continue to support LLS. We’re always looking for players, sponsors, and donated items for our auction. Registration, sponsor, and donation information can be found on our website:      https://www.dglinksforleukemia.org/    

Please visit us on our Facebook page and “like” us.    https://www.facebook.com/DebbieGraysLinksForLeukemia/

For more information on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society please visit:  https://www.lls.org/                      

Thank you for your generosity,

John and Debbie Gray

Jeffrey Sachs