Announcement from the LRG’s Executive Director

Dear Friends,

The Life Raft Group is facing the same challenges we all are in light of this health crisis. We are doing our best on a daily basis to do the right thing in all matters impacting the well-being of our patients, caregivers, staff and everyone we serve. We want to be intentional without panicking or overreacting. That being said, we have decided that we will take an approach to the crisis that makes the most sense, continuing to evaluate upcoming events on a regular basis.

We recently decided to postpone our Tampa GIST Day of Learning and will continue to make decisions with the most current information. We will strive to keep you updated regularly. Your health and the health of your loved ones continues to be of utmost importance.

Please know that we will continue to be here for you as we have been consistently for the past twenty years. We will continue to provide services for you regardless of this pandemic, and together we will get through this. Most cancer patients and their families have had to cope with the changing concept of what is defined as “the new normal” in their lives.

The diagnosis of cancer, the grim expression on a doctor’s face as he describes that the latest treatment hasn’t worked, or the opposite-the exhilaration from a radiologist coming into the room and exclaiming that the latest treatment has worked are all part of the roller coaster ride called cancer. And just when we at the Life Raft Group thought that we had cataloged all of the medical, logistical and emotional obstacles that a GIST patient might have to face, along comes a virus with a name like a popular beer that has engaged unprecedented global attention.

The reality is that patients with cancer are often immune-compromised, which is sometimes exacerbated by age, which adds “at-risk” to their new normal world. As prudent people, we will do everything we can to minimize the challenge of the coronavirus to their already at-risk status. The other reality is that most patients will be just fine. When the dust clears, we should be able to go back to our normal fears about scans or unusual new aches and pains.

One thing I know to be true, if there is any group that can take this in stride, it is those who have looked cancer straight in the eye and decided to live their lives to the fullest.

Thank you for your patience,

Norman J. Scherzer, Executive Director, The Life Raft Group