A Second Chance and a Lasting Legacy

When Kris Wells discovered several tiny bumps along her collarbone in 2008, she wasn’t concerned. She could roll them around with her fingertips, but she didn’t think much of it.

Still, at a primary care appointment, she asked her doctor about them. What followed was a bone marrow biopsy, which revealed no cancer. After blood tests and an MRI, the diagnosis came in: Kris had follicular lymphoma, a blood cancer.

She was rightfully scared.

“Here I was, 63 years old and, I had thought, in fairly good health and happily retired after a career as a newspaper editor,” she recalled.

In the months that followed, at Moffitt Cancer Center, Kris endured a range of chemotherapy drugs, resulting in hair loss, insomnia, restless legs and other side effects. After a few months of treatment, she had her last round of chemotherapy, and a scan revealed no cancer.

Three years later, the cancer returned. At a routine appointment, a doctor detected lumps in her neck, clavicle and abdomen. Then came another summer of chemotherapy, as well as a recommendation for a donor cell transplant—the only chance for a cure for her condition. That transplant ultimately came from Kris’s brother Eric.

For much of 2011, Kris and her faithful sidekick, life partner Carolyn Clark, stayed close to Moffitt, including at Hope Lodge. Throughout her care during the transplant process, Kris never lost trust in her teams of caregivers at Moffitt.

“You could say I bonded with many of them,” she said. “They were so helpful and comforting.”

A year after the transplant, those tiny bumps were long gone. Kris was officially in remission. Today, she continues to see Dr. Joseph Pidala, an oncologist at Moffitt, for blood tests and checkups every two or three months.

There’s no question that Kris’ experience was both physically and emotionally taxing, but it was her care team—and the trust they inspired—that moved her to become a generous supporter of Moffitt since 2016. Most recently, she created a charitable gift annuity (CGA) using a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from her retirement account, a gift that pays you and makes tomorrow brighter for Moffitt Cancer Center and our patients.

It’s a smart giving vehicle for people who are grateful for the lifesaving care they or a loved one received at Moffitt, just like Kris. “My gratitude to Moffitt will never end, I promise,” she said. “Living by that pledge, I donate to the Moffitt Foundation in the hope of helping others find the care they need.”

Like Kris, you, too, can make a difference in the lives of patients at Moffitt Cancer Center.

Contact Michael Kennedy at 813-745-7992 or michael.kennedy@moffitt.org.