Multidisciplinary Care Gives International Patient Her Life Back—and a Potential Pathway for Future Patients

In March 2019, Emily Foster’s life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer.

Emily—who is a Global Brand Ambassador for her family’s company, Goslings Rum—was born and raised in Bermuda but splits her time between Bermuda, the United Kingdom, and Canada. She first underwent chemotherapy and surgery in the UK and then a smaller procedure in Canada. Emily’s health seemed to be under control for the time being.

Then the world shut down when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Inspired by Sister’s Fight, Worcester Native Raises Critical Awareness and Funds for UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center

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In 2023, Kweku Akese was a senior at the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science, thinking about college and making his mark in the world. Inspired by his passion for biochemistry and a personal connection to sickle cell disease—a disorder that alters the shape of red blood cells and blocks blood flow, leading to intense pain, organ damage, and other serious complications—Kweku wanted to make a difference in the lives of youth affected by this condition.

Hursey Family Makes Commitment to Support Life-Saving Care in the Advanced Transplant Program at UMass Memorial Medical Center

In the United States, nearly 90,000 people are currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, and the wait time average is three to five years. While finding a living donor is an often long and arduous process, this ended up being the easy part of the health journey for Nancy Hursey, a former nurse who was told she needed a kidney transplant amid living with diabetes and after two years on dialysis.