First Person: Eric Reeves
Consumed by Darfur, confident in Dana-Farber
Edited by Debra Ruder
Eric Reeves discusses the situation in Sudan with photos he took in that conflict-torn northeastern African country. The stuffed bear by his side, wearing a "Save Darfur" T-shirt, accompanies him to medical procedures.
Eric Reeves wasn't terribly surprised when he picked up a bug during his 2003 trip to Sudan, given sanitary conditions in the troubled African country. But the shocker came when his blood tests revealed something much more ominous: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Reeves, now 58, came to Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center for a second opinion and treatment that he believes saved his life. Although symptom-free in recent years, he expects to have more chemotherapy, followed by a reduced-intensity stem cell transplant. He credits his Dana-Farber oncologist, Ann LaCasce, MD, with helping him face the uncertainties about CLL and focus on his priorities. "Planning your life is incredibly difficult with this disease," LaCasce says. "There's so much that Eric wants to do."
Topping his list is raising awareness about ethnic violence in Darfur, a province of western Sudan (Africa's largest country) where fighting between rebels and government-backed militias has spread to civilians and resulted in death, displacement, and suffering for millions of people, many of whom have lost their homes and villages. Reeves, an English professor at Smith College, became absorbed by Sudan nine years ago. Now on leave from his teaching duties, he spends most of his waking hours producing comprehensive, widely distributed analyses about developments in Darfur, writing op-ed pieces and speeches, giving media interviews, and updating his sudanreeves.org Web site. Reeves and other advocates hope their efforts will pressure the Sudanese government to allow in more peacekeepers and humanitarian aid.
This winter, the gracious and warm Reeves took a break from his intense work to speak with Paths of Progress editor Debra Ruder at his Northampton, Mass., home.
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