OUR MISSION

Betty Smith Afful is the Founder of Addlife to Years Foundation, the visionary and overseer of the organization. She is a wife, mother of three and a Lymphoma survivor (A type of blood cancer). Betty was diagnosed of stage IV Primary Mediastinal B Cell lymphoma in 2019. She went through six (6) cycles of chemotherapy and a surgery. Her search for information to help her with this journey and the experience she had through her treatment propelled her to create this foundation. This is because prior to her diagnosis, She had very little knowledge about PMBCL and didn’t know how to go about her diagnosis and treatment. After reading and acquiring lots of information about her diagnosis and cancer in general during her treatment period, she however began to create awareness whiles going through treatment. Thus, access to quality information about cancer is one of the keys to increase survival rate of cancer in our part of the world. Fear of cancer treatments and lack of education on them especially Chemotherapy causes people to resort to other means to find cure. As she shares her success story, it creates awareness and also brings hope to other cancer patients. She is also the founder of the Addlife to Years Lymphoma Support Group. A group she created to support patients diagnosed of lymphoma. After, the launch of the Group at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, a lot of lymphoma patients have benefited from the support group. She provides emotional, psychological and financial support to patients, survivors and caregivers of lymphoma to help them fight the disease. For her, impacting the world is her greatest desire and the evidence is seen in the service she provides to these patients.

I witnessed the uncertainty of life and the strength of humanity first hand on a flight to India one day. A passenger on board started experiencing some sort of health issue. The crew sort the assistance of any medical professional on board, and within minutes, there were passengers and crew to help this passenger. Apparently, by this time, the passenger had no pulse but the responders did not give up though and kept on with CPR. Sadly, after 70 minutes or so later, the doctors who were on board pronounced the passenger dead. After the pronouncement, there was not a dry eye around. Passengers on board shedding tears for a stranger that they hardly knew. It was a surreal experience. What I saw that day was the spirit of humanity at work. Strangers coming together and fighting to keep death at bay. No one wanted to give up. They all kept doing what they could. This is love at display and since that day I have had hope that there is still love on the planet. This experience is what drives us at Addlife to Years foundation: Being our brother’s keeper and standing in for the well-being of others. Nobody should lose his or her life to cancer especially Lymphoma. We are here to fight with anyone who is ready to battle lymphoma. If there is a patient to fight lymphoma, there is Addlife to Years foundation to fight with that patient. Together all our actions matter - Bensmith Afful