Jeff Apodaca
Annual Event:
Cancer Survivor Celebrates Life with Scholarships
At 17, Jeff Apodaca
(pictured) was one of nine people in the world to be diagnosed with
a rare form of cancer. Eighteen months of chemotherapy and seven weeks
of radiation at the Children's Hospital of New Mexico (CHNM) gave him
an 80 percent chance of survival.
Today, Jeff has
been cancer-free for more than 20 years. He now finds himself on the
opposite side of the hospital curtain, as a living testament to his
care and treatment at CHNM.
Celebrating the
anniversary of his remission, Jeff created the "Jeff Apodaca Celebration
of Life," an annual fund-raising event for the CHNM, raising $100,000
a year. The Jeff Apodaca Celebration of Life Award, presented each year
at the event, includes a $2,500 scholarship for one CHNM pediatric oncology
patient who has demonstrated exemplary strength and maintains an outstanding
capacity for life. The scholarship provides assistance with school-related
expenses at a New Mexico college of the recipient's choice.
"The time I spent
[at the Children's Hospital] has given me the chance to celebrate 20
years of living," says Jeff. "I would like to give the children at the
CHNM the opportunity to celebrate their 20th remission anniversaries,
too."
UNM Foundation
Inc.
Two Woodward Center
700 Lomas Boulevard NE
Albuquerque, NM 87131
505-277-4503
1-800-UNM-FUND
Fax: 505-277-4435
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