Cancer Survivor Creates 'Angel' Network to Help Others
After years of therapy he emerged cancer-free with a mission to set up a network of survivors to provide one kind of support he missed when dealing with cancer.
Text Size:
November 2, 2009
Johnny Immerman was only 26, pursuing his MBA and full of plans for the future when he was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer in 2001. After years of therapy he emerged cancer-free with a mission to set up a network of survivors to provide one kind of support he missed when dealing with cancer.
"I had great doctors, friends and family, but what I really needed was another guy in his 20s who could look me square in the eye and say. 'I sat in your seat five years ago, and life is good on the other side," he told the Wall Street Journal.
This resulted in the nonprofit Imerman Angels which in the last three years has connected 2,000 survivors as volunteer mentors with new cancer patients. According to the news provider, the 34-year-old aims for his organization to recruit enough survivors within the next five years to enable newly diagnosed patients to get in touch with a mentor of the same age, gender and type of cancer within 24 hours of diagnosis.
The American Cancer Society estimates that some 8,400 new cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2009. Experts say the disease cannot easily be prevented, so men at a higher risk - such as those with a family history or with an undescended testicle - should undergo regular screenings.
It may also be a good idea to conduct periodic self-examinations.
Survivors and their families may turn to the Testicular Cancer Resource Center for information on how to thrive in the wake of a diagnosis. Interested individuals may also donate to the Lance Armstrong Foundation which fights to end the stigma preventing patients in poor countries from getting treatment for the disease.
Johnny Immerman was only 26, pursuing his MBA and full of plans for the future when he was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer in 2001. After years of therapy he emerged cancer-free with a mission to set up a network of survivors to provide one kind of support he missed when dealing with cancer.
"I had great doctors, friends and family, but what I really needed was another guy in his 20s who could look me square in the eye and say. 'I sat in your seat five years ago, and life is good on the other side," he told the Wall Street Journal.
This resulted in the nonprofit Imerman Angels which in the last three years has connected 2,000 survivors as volunteer mentors with new cancer patients. According to the news provider, the 34-year-old aims for his organization to recruit enough survivors within the next five years to enable newly diagnosed patients to get in touch with a mentor of the same age, gender and type of cancer within 24 hours of diagnosis.
The American Cancer Society estimates that some 8,400 new cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2009. Experts say the disease cannot easily be prevented, so men at a higher risk - such as those with a family history or with an undescended testicle - should undergo regular screenings.
It may also be a good idea to conduct periodic self-examinations.
Survivors and their families may turn to the Testicular Cancer Resource Center for information on how to thrive in the wake of a diagnosis. Interested individuals may also donate to the Lance Armstrong Foundation which fights to end the stigma preventing patients in poor countries from getting treatment for the disease.
