When Navy Captain Jeffrey Sapp began feeling unusually fatigued while working in Saudi Arabia, he initially brushed it off. This decision nearly cost him his life. Medevaced to Georgetown University Hospital, he received devastating news—he had primary plasma cell leukemia, a rare and aggressive blood cancer with a typical survival rate of just 7-12 months.

Captain Sapp takes us through his remarkable military career commanding six ships and serving as aide-de-camp to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before sharing the harrowing details of his cancer journey. After five consecutive days of chemotherapy and 24-hour dialysis to address kidney failure, doctors still weren't optimistic about his chances. That's when an experimental treatment called CAR-T cell therapy entered the picture.

This groundbreaking therapy—where scientists extracted his T-cells, genetically re-engineered them to specifically target cancer cells, and reinfused them—has kept him in near-complete remission without chemotherapy since 2023. The treatment, costing approximately $450,000, represents decades of painstaking research that simply wouldn't exist without consistent funding.

"When you cut funding for someone who has cancer, it's like taking a life vest off of someone who is drowning and calling it budget reform," Sapp explains with unmistakable urgency. As we mark Leukemia Awareness Month, his story serves as a powerful reminder of what's at stake when research funding faces cuts—real lives hang in the balance.

Sapp encourages listeners to become advocates by learning about cancer, engaging with those affected, and speaking up for continued research. Even as he now faces a new diagnosis of prostate cancer, his message remains steadfast: "Never give up, never surrender." His journey from military leader to cancer survivor to passionate advocate reminds us all that behind every research dollar are countless stories of hope, perseverance, and lives worth saving.

Be sure to check out Captain Sapp's excellent TED Talk.