Every summer, Kent Klingman celebrates his recovery from acute mylogenous leukemia (AML) with family and dozens of friends by giving back to the community - on the golf course. Here is his story. What my family and friends started in 1997 as a fund-raiser to help cover my own medical expenses has grown into the Klingman Open Charity Golf Tournament and Dinner Auction, which has now raised over $160,000 for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Family Assistance Fund. As a stem cell transplant patient at the Hutchinson Center in 1997, I received help from the Fund, which provides financial assistance for housing, groceries, transportation, etc. to patients and families in need. Cancer free since 1997, I have made this my personal mission to support the Family Assistance Fund annually through the Klingman Open. I cannot begin to tell you how meaningful the funds became during my recovery while at the Hutchinson. Cancer can be overwhelming, and support during this time is so imperative.
 | 2006 brought a wonderful surprise thanks to my wife, Martha, and my mother. They were able to accomplish a task that had escaped me for 8 years, and that was coordinating with the national marrow donor registries here in North America and in Europe. Their persistance paid off and with a surprising knock on our front door, I came face to face with Mathias Junge, my stem cell donor from Germany! What a moment for us all. |