Mission Moment Monday: 20 Famous Blood Cancer Patients

Our mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's Disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Blood cancers have a huge impact on people of every age, gender, and background. Blood cancers do not care who you are or how much money you have. People from every walk of life are touched by these diseases. Following is a list of some famous blood cancer patients:

1. Mary Travers- Mary was a member of the folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary. She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004 and made a complete recovery following chemotherapy treatments.
2. Mr. T- Known for large gold jewelry and his quote "I pity the fool", Mr. T coincidentally battled T-cell lymphoma.
3. Tom Landry- Head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for 29 seasons, Tom died of leukemia in February 2000 at the age of 75.
4. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis- The former first lady was diagnosed with lymphoma which later metastasized to her brain and liver. She died in 1994.
5. David Quessenberry- The Houston Texans offensive tackle is currently undergoing lymphoma treatments at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
6. Michael C. Hall- Famously known for his roles in Six Feet Under and Dexter, the actor was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2010.
7. Tom Brokaw- In February 2014, Tom announced he'd been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
8. Ed Bradley- During his 25-year career as a broadcast journalist on 60 Minutes, he won 19 Emmys. Ed died during a surgery on his spleen. He was suffering at the time from leukemia.
9. Geraldine Ferraro- Ferraro inspired women all over America as a great attorney and politician. In 1998, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and became a great advocate for research before dying of the disease in 2011.
10. Marie Curie- One of the most celebrated scientists of her time, Curie was most famous for her discovery of the elements polonium and radium. She won two Nobel Prizes, one in chemistry and another for physics which she shared with both her husband and Henry Becquerel. It is believed that her extended exposure to radioactive materials led to her diagnosis of leukemia and subsequent death.
11. Bill Walsh- Long time head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford University, Bill died of leukemia at the age of 75.
12. Peter Boyle- Best known for his role as the sharp-tongued dad on Everybody Loves Raymond, Peter died of multiple myeloma in 2006.
13. Paul Allen- The co founder of Microsoft beat Hodgkin lymphoma in 1983 and was later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2009.
14. King Hussein of Jordan- Following a stem cell transplant for lymphoma, he died in 1999.
15. Gene Wilder- The actor/comedian underwent a life-saving autologous stem cell transplant for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
16. Ryan O'Neal- The famous actor beat leukemia. Later, he suffered from a secondary cancer, stage four prostate cancer.
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- This basketball legend has been taking Gleevec® for his leukemia.
18. Evan Handler- Best known for his roles on Californication and Sex and the City, Evan beat leukemia at the age of 23. At the time, he was not expected to survive his very difficult battle against AML.
19. Robin Roberts- After overcoming breast cancer, Robin suffered a great side effect of her treatments, myelodysplastic syndrome (a precursor to AML) and underwent a bone marrow transplant. Her sister was her donor.
20. Harland Sanders- Known as "Colonel Sanders", he created Kentucky Fried Chicken and traveled 250,000 miles per year visiting his many restaurants until he died of leukemia in 1980 at the age of 90.

There are very many more famous folks who have had blood cancers. Neither fame nor fortune can stop these diseases. The answer to ending blood cancers lies in the hands of researchers who work diligently to develop better therapies to both extend and improve life.

In the below video, Gene Wilder talks about his battle against NHL and stem cell transplant.