Lawrence dedicated his entire life to service. He was a celebrated member of the military, retiring in 2004 as Lt. Colonel of the U.S. Armed Forces. He spent more than 40 years serving in academia as a professor, scholar and administrator. Additionally, he was a passionate volunteer leader with Be The Match, delivering second chances to patients around the world through his advocacy and dedication.
Paving the way to more cures
In 2007, after being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), Lawrence received a marrow transplant that saved his life. While Lawrence was grateful for his second chance at life, he knew not every patient was as fortunate to find a matched donor. Remarkably, just seven months post-transplant, Lawrence took on his next passion-project: facilitating student-led registry drives on the college campus where he was a professor.
Within two years, Lawrence officially launched the Cancer Advocacy Movement for Colleges & Outreach (CAMCO) program, leveraging student leaders to spread awareness and recruit their young, diverse peers to join the registry. Initially, CAMCO launched at Texas State University, but expanded quickly to other campuses across the state of Texas, importantly reaching schools with ethnically diverse populations.
The impact of Lawrence’s visionary program has been significant, reaching far beyond Texas. As of today, 144 patients from 20 states and 14 countries have received a second chance at life from a donor match because of CAMCO.
A legacy of impact
For more than 10 years, Dr. Estaville served in several Be The Match volunteer leadership roles with his wife, Sandra, right by his side. Together, they consistently demonstrated a life-long commitment to service. Lawrence would joke that, “Before transplant I was big and brawny and after, I was small and scrawny. But it was the size of the passion in your heart and what you did with it that mattered most.”
Before he passed away in 2018, Lawrence and Sandra decided to honor his legacy in a meaningful way, including Be The Match in their family’s estate plans. Sandra made this decision intentionally, knowing how important it was to have Lawrence’s dedication to Be The Match continued for generations to come.
To learn more about including Be The Match in your estate plans, please contact Amy at Amy.Bigot@nmdp.org.