Members Of South Florida's Legal Community Gather To Help Colleague Fight Cancer
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Members of South Florida's legal community are rallying around a colleague diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
Philippe Deve, a lawyer with Gray Robinson, P.A. was diagnosed less than two weeks ago with acute myeloid leukemia. Saturday night, friends held a bone marrow registry drive to help find a match for Deve who may need a bone marrow transplant.
"We've rallied behind his efforts to get well. We're like his family," explained his law partner, Leyza Blanco.
Blanoc said Deve's diagnosis came as a shock.
"He thought he was coming down with the flu," she said. She described Deve as very active and healthy. "He mountain bikes, paddle boards, likes kayaking." Now he's in the hospital receiving chemotherapy treatments.
Blanco said that Deve will likely need a bone marrow transplant. His firm and other law firms have hosted drives so people can sign up to be potential bone marrow donors.
Saturday night's drive took place at the Corporate Knockout, a fundraiser for Easter Seals.
"It's an opportunity to help someone who's in dire need. It's a colleague. It's an opportunity to come together, so the fact that we're having this event for 400 people it's a great place to host testing," said Adolfo Jimenez with the law firm of Holland and Knight.
In between watching fights, people took time to fill out forms and swab their cheeks to enter their information into the National Marrow Donor Program.
"My grandmother passed away from cancer. I think at some point diseases like this touch almost all of us so if I could help i'd be happy to help," said Mike Redondo who was tested.
Click here to see a list of several other marrow registry drives coming up . If you'd like more information, you can email donateforphilippe@gmail.com
