Raising Awareness for Different Reasons

“The Massey Challenge embodies my passion for medicine and my inspiration for becoming a physician.” Those are the words of Jamie Friedman, a fourth year medical student with Virginia Commonwealth University, who shares a past, present and future connection to supporting cancer research.

Jamie’s grandfather passed away after his battle with lymphoma more than ten years ago. “His disease and the complications he faced sparked my interest in medicine,” says Jamie.  “Over the next decade I watched others fight a similar battle, and lost several family friends to various types of cancer.”

It hit home again when Jamie’s father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer during her first year of medical school. Although her father’s kind of cancer had a good prognosis, he had to overcome many obstacles during his treatment. It was at that moment when Jamie decided she needed to do more. “I wanted to become more involved with cancer awareness fundraising projects,” Jamie remembers.
During her second year of medical school, Jamie signed up for one of VCU’s Medical Student Organizations, Students Making it a Little Easier (SMILE). The program pairs a medical student with a child who has leukemia and Jamie was paired with 13 year old Victoria. “The relationship I have with Victoria has been one that I truly cherish,” says Jamie. But she was still looking for more ways to become involved and her personal and professional experiences with cancer led her to participate in the HDL, Inc. Massey Challenge.

As a way to fundraise and create awareness by promoting health within the Richmond community, Jamie also uses the Massey Challenge as a tool to grow professionally, and encourages other medical students to become involved too. In 2013, Jamie and the VCU Medical School team exceeded their team goal and raised $2,195. “As a medical student at VCU, the Massey Challenge is a great way to give locally, support my school and have fun with my classmates,” says Jamie. “In bringing people together by sharing stories, cheering each other on, and providing education about cancer, we can grow collectively,” states Jamie.

In 2011, Jamie was the Medical Student Government Vice President in charge of community service and utilized the Massey Challenge as an opportunity for the school to be involved in cancer awareness and fundraising with the local community. She hopes to continue this new tradition of having a medical school team and eventually expand to involve the other medical professional schools to create a friendly fundraising competition.

“After my father was diagnosed with cancer, I decided to become more involved in fundraising, spreading awareness, and providing support to people battling cancer,” Jamie says. “Through my training at VCU, I will inevitably encounter a patient who receives care at Massey Cancer Center.”

Jamie recognizes that cancer may be a fixture in her professional future for years to come. “The more people who are aware of this disease, the more we can provide support to those battling cancer and together we can fight to find a cure,” states Jamie. “Throughout my career I hope to continue this passion with my future patients, regardless of any diagnosis.”