When Terry Winckler sees family snapshots taken on the occasion of his eldest son’s birth in 1997, he recalls the joy he felt — and the pain. He knows now that the excruciating backache he suffered that day in the hospital was a symptom of abdominal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that was diagnosed and treated with chemotherapy months later.

That experience was tough enough, but things got worse. In 2000, he learned the cancer was back and that more chemo plus a stem-cell transplant to rebuild his bone marrow were his best bets to beat his disease. “I said, ‘Well, let’s go for it,” recalls Winckler, who is editor of the San Mateo County Times and who had put his research skills to good use in seeking care. “My investigation made me feel very confident that this was top-notch treatment.”

In the transplant procedure, Winckler’s own stem cells were harvested by pheresis machines of the sort the Foundation has funded over the years. “Foundation support has been tremendous,” says Jeffrey Wolf, M.D., director of the Stem Cell Transplant Program and one of Winckler’s physicians. “We couldn’t do what we do without them.”

As for Winckler, he’s back to grueling days meeting deadlines, relieved by family outings on his 42-foot sailboat. “Alta Bates Summit is where to go when you want to get cured,” he says. “These doctors are extremely competent and caring. I count myself very lucky to get hooked up with them.”