Courage in the face of cancer

Lily Garfield, 68, of Aspen, Colorado, has spent much of her life overseeing Cos Bar, a luxury, multi-brand beauty retailer she founded in 1976 that has locations across the country. Lily is quite the expert in beauty and skin care. She speaks fluently of fragrance, bath and body, makeup and hair products, and of the stores' dozens of well-known brands.

But in June 2007, she felt a lump and knew she needed a different type of expertise. A biopsy and a third pathology report revealed peripheral T cell lymphoma, a rare and aggressive cancer.

Lily was determined to get the best care, no matter where. She reached out to friends in Houston for advice, and four days later she and her husband, Ron, were at MD Anderson where Lily began a clinical trial.

During her treatment, Lily observed MD Anderson at work.

"Everyone from Infectious Disease to Lymphoma to Hematology worked collectively as a team," Lily says. "It didn't matter what time of day or night; it was 24/7 care and was simply amazing."

Lily has been in remission ever since.

In January 2015, Ron was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma. He also underwent a clinical trial at MD Anderson, and he went into remission in August of that year. 

Today, as a member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, Lily gives back to the institution in any way she can. On June 4, for example, in recognition of National Survivors Day, Cos Bar offered cancer survivors a free makeup application or mini facial and donated 10% of sales to the Moon Shots Program™.

"This promotion was so well-received; several people reached out to express how happy they were we did this," says Lily. "For those who couldn't come in that Sunday, we did a presale on Friday and Saturday, and it was greatly appreciated."

While it's been a decade since her cancer treatment, Lily continues to speak about MD Anderson with admiration, respect and confidence, and she recommends the institution to anyone seeking cancer care.