BETHEL, Vt. -
Amelia Lincoln loves to garden. But so far this planting season, she has had to sit it out.
"It's been a long haul and we try to keep a pretty positive attitude about everything. So, I generally could feel worse right now," she said.
Lincoln's immune system is fragile. For the past six weeks, she has been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.
"I have acute myelogenous leukemia," she said. "I have a leukemia that came back after a stem cell transplant two years ago."
She had been in remission, but the aggressive cancer in her bone marrow is back.
"It's a change of priorities, but what would anyone say if their spouse was sick," husband James Patterson said.
Lincoln needs another transplant at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. But right now, she has yet to find the perfect match.
"We used to use bone marrow specifically for a bone marrow transplant. Nowadays, we can use medicines to stimulate a patient's bone marrow cells into the blood. We can collect those bone marrow cells in the blood-- called peripheral blood stem cells-- and use those cells for the transplant," said Dr. Kenneth Meehan of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
A donor drive Tuesday in Randolph Center could increase Amelia's odds. No needles-- just a swab.
"It's a simple undertaking," Meehan said. "It doesn't take a long time. People just come in and get the inside of their mouth swabbed. But it really can save someone's life. I can't emphasize that enough."
People like Amelia Lincoln-- or anyone for that matter who is battling cancer.
"We feel really strongly that this is for the greater good because it is such a needle in a haystack to find the right donor. But the more people we can make aware of this, we think, the better," Lincoln said.
"Bring your friends," Patterson said.
After all it could be a friend, a loved one, or a complete stranger who is in need.
The drive will be held at the Red School House on the campus of Vermont Technical College Tuesday from 4-7:30 p.m. You can also get a kit mailed to you. Click here for more information on the National Marrow Donor Program.
