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CT Chapter Members in the News
Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.”
Suzanne Necker (1739-1794)
Jack Bouffard was what you might call a typical (in all the good ways) 30-something guy. He had a zest for life; enjoyed UCONN football and basketball; and was a huge fan of the Dave Matthews Band and U2. He owned his own massage therapy practice, and it seemed the rest of life lie stretched out before him on a wide-open road. But the road was about to get rough, and 2008 would be anything but typical for Jack.
He was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He gave up his massage therapy practice to focus on treatment. Not long after, he began suffering peripheral neuropathy (a numbing pain and tingling sensation in the fingers and toes) as a result of the chemotherapy. He was unsure he’d recover from it well enough to return to massage therapy.
Jack explored support groups near where he received treatment, and found the groups comprised primarily of patients over 50. Jack hoped to find support of people his own age and in similar stages of life as him. Then a friend told Jack about I'm Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation, I[2]Y. He attended the first annual OMG! Cancer Summit For Young Adults in New York City, during the spring of 2008. It was here that he found himself surrounded by hundreds of other young adult survivors in their 20s and 30s. And it was here, that fortune unmasked a national spokesperson for the young adult cancer
movement.
Jack contributes his time and talent to the organization's many advocacy projects. He accepted a leadership position as ‘Chief Cancer Anarchist’, a commitment that affords him the opportunity to speak around the country on behalf of the foundation. He speaks at cancer conferences, college campuses and in high school classrooms. He’s the Senior Contributor to The Stupid Cancer Show, I[2]Y’s syndicated, talk-radio broadcast. Jack is also a regular on SIRIUS/XM Doctor Radio's Oncology Show, and recently did a spot for the Dr. Oz show.
Jack is also a member of the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance, and he recently returned from their annual conference in Austin, Texas. Proctor & Gamble’s audit of the LIVESTRONG YAA resulted in Jack being named one of the top-10 most influential people in the young adult cancer community.
Jack graduated Connecticut Center for Ma s s a g e . To d a y, i n addition to the enormous contributions he makes to I[2]Y and LIVESTRONG, J a ck ha s r e turned t o massage therapy part-time,
at the Williams & Warren Spa in Darien, Connecticut.
We continue to look for more CT Therapists Making News. If you have some exciting news to share or know of someone you think should be highlighted email our newsletter editor at
newsletter@amtactchapter.org.