FORCE OF NATURE

Patient establishes program to support female bladder cancer care

Gail Kraemer did what she wanted, how she wanted, when she wanted to do it. In her early years, she traveled through Africa and Mongolia big game hunting. Later in life, she got her pilot’s license and became an avid golfer. Whether she was jet skiing around Tellico Lake or hosting a dinner party, Kraemer was always in charge. She had no time for limits — just adventures.

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, Kraemer immersed herself in the research, learning everything she could about other women’s experiences and how to successfully navigate her own. (She had a lumpectomy and radiation and was cleared after treatment.) When she was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2017, she tried to take the same approach. But because men are four times more likely to have bladder cancer than women, most of the support focused on men.

Thanks to Kraemer, that was about to change.

Steps to support

She was born in Missouri, grew up in Queens and was living in Long Beach, California, when she met Rich Kraemer through mutual friends. They were both widowed in their first marriages: Her husband died of a heart attack and his wife was killed in an auto accident. They fell in love, got married, and she became a stepmother to Rich Kraemer’s three children, Suzette, Kim and Rick. They lived in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina, in 2006 and then to a lake house in Vonore, Tennessee, in 2017 to be “close, but not too close,” to Suzette and Kim, who both live in Nashville.

“Gail went out and bought a jet ski right away,” Suzette said. “She jet skied until the end.”

Rich and Gail Kraemer traveled extensively around the world and were in Augusta, Georgia, for the Masters when she experienced tremendous pain that sent them back home after just one day. When she was diagnosed with noninvasive, high-risk bladder cancer, she opted for clinical trials and medication to avoid a cystectomy, or surgery to remove her bladder, but progression of the disease eventually made it necessary.

In July 2022, Gail visited Nashville to go honkytonking with Suzette, Kim and her sister, Pam, from Arkansas.

“She never let cancer define her,” Suzette said. “A lot of people didn’t know how sick Gail was, including myself. It never broke her spirit.”

Shortly thereafter, on Aug. 1, Gail was admitted to the hospital following a surgery follow-up appointment. The cancer had spread very quickly to her liver. She died on Aug. 9, 2022.

“I had dinner with Gail and Rich, and within three weeks she had passed,” Chang said. “Her disease progression was very, very rapid.”

“She was a tremendous fighter,” Rich said. “She had two major surgeries and recovered very quickly from both. When I took her to the hospital that week, I never thought I wouldn’t bring her home. I think she just finally said, ‘I’ve had enough.’”

As a tribute to Gail, Rich continued to fund the care coordinator position after her initial gift, ensuring that women with bladder cancer will benefit for years to come.

“We are collecting data and records to help track and improve and create true touch points with patients. Where do we need more info? Where do we need less? What are the areas of concern? How did this make a difference?” Chang said. “This type of care requires time, support and the right people. It doesn’t make money, but it makes a difference. It takes philanthropy like this to change the process for the better. Gail and Rich’s efforts are making things better for women with cancer.”