Keegan Sanborn

Employer Service Project

8/7/22

For my employer volunteering service project, I participated in a cancer fundraiser run

by one of the radiation oncologists at my clinic. Dr. Meena Bedi created the Stronger than
Sarcoma organization back in 2017 and holds a soiree each year to help raise money to fund
research for bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Each year looks a little different from what I could
tell, but this year the event was held at the Lexus car dealership right outside Milwaukee. Below
is a picture of the venue where the fundraiser was held.

I talked with Dr. Bedi months before the event to make sure I made it on the volunteer
list. She was very excited to have some more help and explained what I would be doing. On the
day of the event, I was given instructions for my role throughout the night. I served food and
wine that was catered by a company. There were 10 different food and drink stations that were
run by different volunteers. I was tasked with restocking the food and wine and discussing the
options with any guest that was interested in trying my station. The event lasted close to 4
hours, and I was there for the whole time. Below is a picture of the booth where I was set up.
I had an amazing time at this event. So many people showed up in support of the foundation.
Gifts were auctioned off and a DJ played music throughout the night. The best part of the night
was talking to a man named John. John is a sarcoma survivor and was treated by Dr. Bedi
almost 5 years ago. He lives in Florida now but makes the trip back each year to show his
support for her dedication to beating this cancer. He talked about his life, his triumphs and
struggles and how fortunate he was to meet Dr. Bedi. We talked about my role as a dosimetrist
and how important my job is to people like him who must battle through such a terrible
disease. I was very honored that he stuck by me most of the night, and very much appreciated
his company and conversation.

Seeing all the support for this fundraiser taught me a lot. It taught me how important it
is to have a strong community surrounding you as you battle through the struggles in your life.
John explained to me his support system and how important healthcare workers were to him. It
reminded me why I wanted to get into healthcare in the first place, to help people. Even if
dosimetrists don’t meet patients, we still have a very large part of play in the effect of radiation
on patients. I don’t take my health for granted and have a new appreciation for the work that
everyone in the radiation oncology field does for patients.

Below is a link to the Stronger than Sarcoma event.

https://www.strongerthansarcoma.com/