Yesterday I gave speech at East Jefferson General Hospital Leadership Meeting regarding upcoming Lympho-Maniac Party. Below is the text from this speech:
“My name is Chad Landry and typically when I get asked to speak to group(s) like yours today I (simply) “Tell my story.” How when I was 20 years old I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and given 50% chance of survival. How I beat the disease, went back to college, and then on to work in finance at Enron in Houston, Texas. How after working 3 years for Enron the company went bankrupt so I was let go and blew my entire severance package in Europe with 3 friends. How I then begged and pleaded for a job in New Orleans and got on with a local investment bank as an institutional stock broker. How around the same time I went for 5 year annual check up here at East Jefferson (EJGH) and had Pet Scan light up lympho node in my chin forcing me to get biopsy to determine if my Cancer was coming back. How I told all my friends and family that if results from this biopsy come back “false positive” then I am going to throw biggest 70s party you can possibly imagine!! How this backyard house party has become big New Orleans Cancer fundraiser with over 1000 people attending every year and (since inception)raising over $700,00 for various local cancer projects like renovation of East Jefferson General Hospital Chemotherapy infusion center and helping to purchase SRT skin cancer radiation machine for East Jefferson radiation oncology department.
But “my story” is not really what I want to talk to you about today. Today/Right now I want to tell you that my Cancer gave me a “gift.” That gift was learning the importance of “Staying in the Moment!” How staying and living in the moment creates inner peace which I believe is the critical ingredient to true happiness in life. You ever notice you don’t have to ask kids to be present and to focus on the moment?? They just do it automatically. Whether they are learning how to ride their bike for 1st time or opening presents on Christmas morning most kids are typically laughing and smiling to the point where it becomes contagious to adults. But what I’ve found is that as we get older we take on the everyday stresses of life which slowly erodes our ability to stay present. Whether you call it being overwhelmed or “sweating the small stuff,” the majority of us sitting in this room can’t stay present.
So on Saturday March 5th at the Lympho-Maniac party we are going to do the UNTHINKABLE. We are going to recreate the Cancer Survivor’s mindset. For this one night everyone attending our party will be Cancer Survivors. Where you live for the moment, you connect with friends, family, your New Orleans community, and most importantly you DANCE YOUR @SS OFF like there is no tomorrow!!
I really hope you can make our event. We are doing event at the New Orleans Lakefront airport and our fundraising goal is $100,000 with all procceds going to benefit lower income families who are being treated for Cancer by an East Jefferson General Hospital Physician. Tickets are $45 (includes food/drink) and can be purchased online thru our website: www.lympho-maniac.com . Should also mention that there is very “heated” dance contest that night with our celebrity judges (Don and Vanessa Trump Jr) awarding Disco Ball to the winner!! Thanks for letting me speak to your group today, Chadwick Landry