Erin Geddis Cummings , advocate and founder of Hodgkin’s International, died on Feb. 24, at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, surrounded by her family. She was 68.
Her death was a result of stomach cancer, complicated by the long-term effects of her childhood battle with cancer.
Erin was born in Summit, New Jersey, in 1957 to Donald Geddis and Mary Todd Everett. As a high school freshman she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Even as a teenager, Erin faced her illness with courage, humor, and a fierce determination to survive—qualities that defined the rest of her life.
However, the treatments used to save her life had long-term effects on her health.
“Being a long-term survivor is both a blessing and a challenge. As grateful as I am to be here,” Erin said in a 2023 statement, “it’s been especially difficult to say goodbye to so many other survivors. That has been as difficult as any physical pain I’ve experienced along the way. I am also faced with the long-term impacts of my experience. It’s a constant reminder of what I went through, and it’s something I have to manage for the rest of my life. I just put one foot in front of the other every day. I’ve been a cancer survivor for 50 years.”
Despite the challenges of late and long-term effects from treatment, Erin has channeled her experiences into advocacy work for fellow cancer survivors. After searching for other long-term Hodgkin’s survivors and connecting with them through online communities, Erin founded Hodgkin’s International to raise awareness about the late effects of cancer treatments and the challenges survivors face. She also joined the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship’s Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team and became an NCCS Elevate Ambassador.
“Erin left an indelible legacy on the cancer advocacy community,” Shelley Fuld Nasso, CEO of Cancer Nation said to The Cancer Letter. “With more than 50 years of survivorship, she experienced significant long-term effects of the treatments that saved her life as a teenager. She started Hodgkins International to educate and bring together long-term survivors and the clinicians who care for them. She was a passionate advocate for helping cancer survivors live well after their cancer diagnosis, and she helped and inspired so many people.
Erin’s Cancer Nation community wrote the following words:
Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 15, Erin lived more than 50 years with and beyond cancer. The treatments that saved her life as a teenager also shaped the rest of it — thyroid cancer, heart surgery, lung disease, infertility, and ultimately stomach cancer. She carried the long arc of survivorship in her own body.
And she never looked away from that truth.
Erin understood something many people don’t: surviving cancer is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with our health, our uncertainty, and a health care system that too often isn’t built for the long haul.
Even in the face of unimaginable health challenges, she chose connection. She chose advocacy.
Erin once said that advocacy gave her voice. The truth is she gave voice to countless others.
Cancer Nation is grieving with her family and with the global community she built. We grieve as friends. As partners. As fellow survivors.
After graduating from Summit High School in 1975, Erin earned a degree in Chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1979. As a pre-med student, Erin discovered that she was most fulfilled by connecting with patients and supporting them in their care. She earned a master’s degree in social work from Simmons College and focused her career on supporting patients and families navigating medical challenges.
Erin and her husband, Rich, started their family in Needham after adopting their first child, Elizabeth, from South Korea. They then moved to Natick and adopted Theodore, Claire, and Martin. They later lived in Sherborn and Concord before moving to Martha’s Vineyard, in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven.
Erin poured herself into motherhood with love, warmth, and unwavering energy. She gave her time, her creativity, and her heart to everything—family, school, and community. Even while navigating ongoing health issues, Erin lived actively and fully, driven by a deep appreciation for life itself.
In addition to being a devoted mother, Erin had many interests and hobbies. She loved to paint and write. She rode and cared for horses, and was a dedicated volunteer at Lovelane, a therapeutic riding center. And a special passion of hers was running. She completed eight Boston and New York City marathons, raising significant funds for pediatric cancer research as part of Fred’s Team.
After her children were grown, Erin turned her lived experience into advocacy. Connecting with other long-term cancer survivors, she saw how many people were struggling with the late effects of their treatment.
In 2016, following the death of a close friend with whom she had shared the vision, Erin founded Hodgkin’s International—organizing, fundraising, educating, and building a global community that now provides support and guidance to thousands of survivors worldwide.
In 2024, Erin realized a lifelong dream by hosting a national survivorship conference in Boston, which was a huge success in bringing together survivors and clinicians. Before cancer returned, she ensured her foundation’s work would continue, with the next conference scheduled for October 2026 in Cincinnati.
Erin loved taking long walks with Rich, especially near the ocean. She found joy in nature—especially the sky, the clouds, the water, and flowers. She loved conversation and connection. She was warm, compassionate, and instantly welcoming—someone who made others feel seen and understood. Erin’s strength and ability to love were constant, steady, and felt by everyone who knew her.
She is survived by her beloved husband, Rich; her children, Elizabeth and her husband John, Theodore, Claire, and Martin; her siblings, Kathleen McDonough, Deirdre Kennedy, Eileen Dexheimer, Christopher Geddis, Kevin Geddis, Megan Avitto, Kathleen Ismail; and predeceased by Clinton Everett and Patrick Everett.
