Ask anyone who has worked in healthcare as a provider of care or technology or related services and they will no doubt have a story or two about a particular patient to recall and how it changed their lives.  These patients and their stories allow us to remember why we went into our chosen profession and what it means to be a healthcare provider or provide goods or services in the healthcare industry. 

I still recall encouters with patients and their names from the time I worked as an orderly during college.  The stories have accumulated through medical school and residency. Additional stories are added on a regular basis from discussions at multidisciplinary conferences and tumor boards. All are inspiring. 

I recently became aware of someone in my community, Paula Takacs, who is a cancer survivor and has recently started a foundation for sarcoma research.  After battling her disease privately with close friends and family, she and her family have shown incredible strength in taking Paula's message public to spread the word and raise research funding. 

You can learn more about Paula's story on her website. 

On April 2nd, the first annual fundraiser for The Paula Takacs Foundation will be The Sarcoma Stomp 5K/ Fun Walk in Charlotte. Proceeds of this fundraiser will benefit the Kristen Ann Carr Sarcoma Laboratory at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. 

More about Paula and her incredible strength.