Even when her son’s survival became a literal one-in-a-million chance, Pat Perrott never gave up hope.

The fact that her son is alive and healthy today shows how your support of City of Hope helps people beat the odds every day.

Matthew Phelan was diagnosed with T-lymphoblastic lymphoma in 1990. He became extremely ill and lost 100 pounds. Every doctor he saw said nothing could be done. But Matthew and his mother Pat wouldn’t accept that.

On a friend’s recommendation, they came to City of Hope. Pablo Parker, M.D., in our department of hematology and hematopoietic cell transplantation, didn’t accept it either.

Dr. Parker explained that if a suitable donor could be found, Matthew might be a candidate for a bone marrow transplant. Even then, he only gave Matthew a 15 percent chance of survival. But 15 percent sounded a lot better than zero.

As it turned out, the key statistic was one in a million: When Matthew’s blood-test data was compared to the million names then in the National Bone Marrow Registry, there was only one potential match! (There are more than five million potential donors in the Registry today.)

When the anonymous donor had her marrow harvested on the East Coast, Barbara,
City of Hope’s bone marrow coordinator, was waiting. She flew home with Matthew’s future in a small bag on her lap.

Sixteen years after his transplant, Matthew is living proof that a dedicated team can beat the odds. Matthew’s team consisted of himself, his family and friends, and City of Hope’s doctors, nurses and technicians.

And when he graduated from college, one more name was added to the list: Matthew’s family flew his bone marrow donor to California as a surprise guest at his graduation party!

“If there’s one thing that distinguishes City of Hope,” Pat says, “it’s that they never give up.”

To help other families benefit from that same spirit, Pat and her family have joined The Legacy of Hope Society, a group of generous people who have made bequests to City of Hope in their wills.

“We want City of Hope to have all the resources it needs,” Pat says. “And I want the world to know about this special place.”

Your generosity is felt every day in the lives of people like Matthew Phelan.
Please use the enclosed reply form to send another lifesaving gift today. And
for more information about The Legacy of Hope Society, please check the box
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