Dawn Goodman is from Cape Town. She met Luisa on a train, travelling in Germany and struck up a friendship with her after Luisa shared her story with her. Below is a letter from Luisa which she wrote for The Sunflower Fund.

Dear Dawn,

My story is very short. I’m 58 years old and all my life I never had any diseases. I didn’t smoke or drink (except in family or with friends a little bit wine). So I had never in mind, that I will get cancer.
But like many others who got cancer I was in very much stress – on work and in private. I worked in the estate sector from early in the morning and often till late at night. And at home was my severely handicapped mother – her left side and both legs were paralysed – so I had a lot of service to do. And all things I wanted to do as well as I can. This was going on for some years.
So I felt tired and sick in springtime 2008 and had therefore an explanation. 

Read more: Luisa's Story

I am a happily married man to Lynne with 3 wonderful kids, Kimberly (21), Sarah (17) and Jayson (14). I have been working as a consulting engineer for BBE in the field of mine ventilation and cooling since 1995. I was first diagnosed with AML leukemia in Aug 2006 after noticing that a bruise on my arm wouldn't heal.
My wife Lynne eventually convinced me to see a GP. I think this was my first visit to a doctor in about 5 years as I generally don't get  sick. The blood test and a bone marrow aspirate quickly confirmed that I had Leukemia. The doctor informed me that there was many treatments and that there was a survival rate of 20%.
I remained upbeat and was determined to join all the other Survivors. At that stage I had no idea just how hard or how long the treatment was going to last and that it would totally change my outlook on life (for the better).

Read more: Never Lose your Dream Raymond Funnell

On December 16th 2006, I was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia) at the age of 23. It obviously came as a huge shock to me and due to the severity of my situation (WB count of 429) meant that treatment had to start immediately. Therefore I was placed into an isolated room at The Royal Worcester Hospital near to my hometown of Bromsgrove, England. For the next 6 months I endured highly intensive chemotherapy and given the poor prognosis, it was clear that my best chance of survival was to undertake a bone marrow transplant.
So in July 2007 I had a stem cell transplant after a donor was found as a perfect match for me on The Anthony Nolan Trust Bone Marrow Database. My donor was from Germany and my transplant was successful and after enduring TBI (total body radiation), more Chemotheraphy and contracting sever mucacitis - I was finally allowed home after 4 weeks of the stem cell transplantation procedure.
Having developed mild GVHD I slowly underwent my year long recovery from the treatment and have been fortunate to have been in a complete remission ever since. I am now 27 years old and since undergoing my treatment for leukaemia I have raised over 9,000GBP through various charity events, all for a British based leukaemia charity called Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research with the more notable achievement being that I ran the Virgin London Marathon(in dedication to my donor) in April 2010.

Read more: Jonjo shares his success story