Hi! It's been such a great summer for Sequence Me Now! My father's close friends and my mother are getting things organized and putting together a great strategic plan to support the goals of Sequence Me Now. So far, I've been learning so much about organizing a group like this and creating a strategy that fits our vision and mission (definitely not something I learned in school!). We are now assembling a team of advisory boards and committees with people who bring expertise in marketing/communications, fundraising/development, and science and technology.
I joined our first monthly board of directors meeting a few weeks back. I was blown away by all the fantastic ideas everyone had, but what stood out was just how much love and passion everyone had for carrying on my father's mission.
I've also been sharing the Sequence Me Now mission with my friends this summer. Just like my father always said, awareness is power. It's the first step toward changing how cancer treatment is done, moving away from old-school methods like surgery, chemo, and radiation to more cutting-edge, genomic-guided precision medicine.
One thing that has helped me through a lot is attending a support group called The Dougy Center every other week. I go to the teenage group sessions, where I meet other kids who've lost their parents or siblings, too. Knowing how cancer takes away special people in our lives makes our work at Sequence Me Now even more critical. Thank you for taking the time to read my August blog! Until next time! — Devona Olson