Brothers who found support now raise funds to help others: Benjamin’s story

Benjamin and Justin Karpf are brothers who were both diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma just a few short years apart. Both have joined FBB's teams in separate Light The Night Walks.  Benjamin's walk, in Orlando, will take place this Thursday, October 9th.  You can read his story below.

My name is Benjamin Karpf and I am a 20 year-old Mechanical Engineering Student at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and last year I was diagnosed and treated for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

I felt completely healthy when I was diagnosed. I was home from college and, in the middle of a standard check-up; my doctor discovered a small lump in my neck. Since my brother was diagnosed with (and treated for) Hodgkin’s in 2012 (which was more than enough to send our mom into panic mode). By the end of the day, I had several scans and a biopsy scheduled for the following week.

By the end of the second week and I spent the next few days dropping my summer classes and dealing with the plans I had made for rest of the year. Luckily, they caught the cancer early and my treatment regimen was not too bad. I received 6 cycles of ABVD (chemotherapy) from July to December and returned to school in January.

I am now in remission, but I still have check-ups a few times a year. During my time in treatment the support of my family, friends, and organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) were a huge help in getting me through this difficult period. Since I know I am not the only one to go through this ordeal needing some support, I have teamed up with the Foundation Beyond Belief (FBB), a team in Orlando’s Light the Night Walk, which benefits LLS. I am the Director of Outreach for the Secular Student Alliance at UCF, and one of our goals is to show the community how people without faith can be giving, caring people and FBB does a lot of work to make people aware of that. My hope is that by raising money and showing support, I can help people in similar scenarios and their loved ones.

Support means a lot to the people who go through cancer and their loved ones.  If you are able to help out, please consider donating to my page: https://pages.lightthenight.org/ncfl/Orlando14/BKarpf  If you are in Orlando and would like to join my team, register to walk with us here:  https://pages.lightthenight.org/ncfl/Orlando14/SecularStudentAllianceatUCFandFriendsFBB