Gerold Fenimore

Gerold Fenimore of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, firmly believes that "life begins at 40." He was first treated in 1991 for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, enjoyed a five-year remission and, upon relapse, received chemotherapy and radiation.

 

After coming to M. D. Anderson just before his 40th birthday in October 1997, he was advised to undergo a peripheral blood stem cell transplant. His sister Cheryl turned out to be the best-matching donor. Following high-dose chemotherapy, he received her crucial blood stem cells three days before last Christmas.

 

"That was the best gift I ever got," says Fenimore, who works for an oilfield chemical company and enjoys fishing and camping with his wife Sheryll and their two boys, Robert, 13, and Eric, 11.