When you ask Todd Coburn's wife, Sarah, to describe him, she's quick to respond with strong adjectives. Self-assured. Confident. Adventuresome. And with a smile, she adds: handsome.

But adventuresome is a good umbrella term for both Sarah and Todd, who share a passion for motorcycling, snowboarding, and windsurfing. "We try and live our lives and have as much fun as we can, instead of waiting and putting things off; we just try and enjoy life to its fullest," said Todd.

Living life to the fullest is a guiding principle for the Coburns, whose ties to the Hutchinson Center run deep after Todd's battle with cancer. "Everything I have today is because of research," said Todd, who in 1992 was treated with an experimental therapy at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Over the past 14 years, the Hutchinson Center has turned out to be much more than the institution that restored Todd's health. It's also the place where he works, volunteers his time to support patients and their families — and where he met his wife of one year. "Getting leukemia was a blessing in disguise," he said.

Those weren't Todd's thoughts during the summer before his senior year of high school in Yakima, Wash., when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, a deadly cancer that attacks the blood system.

The first hint that he was sick occurred shortly after a routine wisdom-tooth extraction, when his mouth wouldn't stop bleeding. A blood test revealed a white-blood-cell count fifty times higher than it should have been — a hallmark of leukemia.

A local oncologist treated Todd with oral chemotherapy to get his blood count under control. But the doctor told him that he would likely need a bone-marrow transplant — the only procedure known to cure that type of cancer — and that the Hutchinson Center in Seattle was the best place to have it.

Todd would need a marrow donor for the transplant, but none of his family members had a tissue type that matched his own. During the three months it took to identify a suitable match, Todd took extra classes and finished his high school coursework before he and his parents would begin a four-and-a-half-month stay at the Hutchinson Center in Seattle for his transplant and recovery.

Despite the experimental nature of the treatment, Todd said the nurses and doctors gave him a real sense of security. His transplant was successful, and in July of 1992, he returned to Yakima and started a two-year trade program as an electrician.

Although his cancer treatment was over, the Hutchinson Center would continue to touch his life. In 2000, while living in Everett, Wash., Todd attended a patient reunion at the Hutchinson Center and was inspired to join the patient-family volunteer program, an activity he continues to this day.

In 2001, Todd experienced a partial relapse that was detected early thanks to a test developed at the Hutchinson Center. The drug Gleevec has kept the leukemia in remission.

The same year, Todd saw an advertisement for an electrician job at the Hutchinson Center. He decided to apply — and was offered the position.

"What I really enjoy about working here is to see the amazing research that goes on - and to know that I'm a part of making that possible," he said. "Even in the 14 years since I was treated, they've learned so much. And if it weren't for research prior to my illness, I wouldn't be sitting here today."

That lifesaving research went on to deeply impact another life. While attending a volunteer event in 2003 for the Pete Gross House, which provides housing for Hutchinson Center patient families, a friend introduced Todd to Sarah, a fellow volunteer. On Valentine's Day, 2005, Todd proposed to her at the top of the Eiffel Tower during a two-week vacation to France.

After a September wedding, the couple honeymooned at a rustic resort on a small island off the coast of Belize, where they let their adventurous natures lead them to kayaking and SCUBA diving.

One year to the day after Todd's memorable proposal, Sarah started working at the Center, where she assists people who wish to contribute to the Hutchinson Center through their estate plans. "It's the perfect place to work. I just can't see us anywhere else; even if we were to retire or become independently wealthy, I still see us involved with the Hutchinson Center," Sarah said.

The couple's zest for their work — and life — is a healthy reminder of what they have been through.

"When people go through a serious illness — if you can continue to experience life to the fullest extent — it gives you a new perspective on life. Thanks to the Hutchinson Center, I've been able to do that," Todd said.

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