hen 18-year-old Joey Rippel of Sugar Land survived his cancer experience, his thoughts turned to other teens who were facing the same thing he had just been through. How could he help teens with cancer not only survive, but live through cancer?

Joey, a star golfer with the Dulles High School golf team, was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in October 2007, his junior year. Wanting to do something to help, his friends raised $1,200 by selling T-shirts and bracelets at school. The Rippels were grateful, but didn ’t need the money, so Joey began to think of ways to “grow” the money to help other teens. That’s when he came up with the Rippel Effect projec—a plan that “ripples” from one person to the next.

One person contributes $3 or more to the Rippel Effect and asks three family members, co-workers, friends or schoolmates to do the same. They then in turn ask three others, and the dollars become infinitely larger, creating a ripple effect. In 2008, the charitable organization ’s first year, the Rippel Effect fund grew from the original $1,200 to $8,000.

A sold out golf tournament in Houston in June raised an additional $36,000. The Houston tournament was followed quickly by a Dallas tournament. A tournament in Tyler is already in the planning stages for fall after Joey arrives there next month to play golf and earn his civil engineering degree at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Joey’s parents, Cindy and George Rippel, will administer the Rippel Effect charitable organization while Joey is away at college, but Joey will have a lot of input. “We always ask, ‘How does Joey want to handle it?’” Cindy Rippel said. “He’s really stepped up to the plate. George and I are administering the foundation, but the progress and direction will be guided by Joey. ”

One thing that became obvious when Joey was sick was the need to stay connected to friends and family. He had been at the top of his golf game and was an honor student and popular at school.

Joey said the cancer diagnosis came as a complete shock, and it turned his world upside down. “I was playing amazing golf. My energy level was high.” Joey’s treatment lasted from October 2007 through February 2008, but the effects of the radiation and chemotherapy lasted a lot longer. “Sometimes I didn’t have energy to do anything. Other times I wanted to go out, but my blood cell counts were too low, and I had to stay in to avoid infection, ” he said. He lost feeling in his extremities and wasn’t able to pick things up or button his own shirt. That feeling has now returned, but it took nearly a year. “There were times when I was well enough to do things and times when I didn’t have any interest in doing things.”

Joey’s experience helped him understand the unique situation lived out by teens with cancer. “Our goal is to help teens not just survive cancer but live through cancer.  Joey knows first hand how difficult it is for teens to continue the life they had before being diagnosed, ” Cindy said. “Living the active, fast paced and busy life of a teen when you feel like yuck can take a lot of self-motivation and courage. Even after treatment is complete, there is an unbelievable amount of side effects to contend with, which may take years to finally resolve. Teens deal with social, hormonal, intellectual, emotional and physical issues that are very different than those of adults and children.  Further complicating a teen’s medical and psychological cancer treatment is the almost complete lack of research and treatment done based on teen-specific data, ” Cindy added.

The Rippels hope the Rippel Effect will be able to fill in some of those gaps in research and treatment, as well as meeting needs of individual teen patients connected with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and

The funds raised at the recent golf tournament will be used to launch the “Blackberry Project,” whereby teens who meet certain criteria will be provided with cell phones and service for a year while in treatment so they can stay connected to family and friends who may be far away. Teens chosen to receive help from the foundation will be determined by recommendations from social workers and child advocates at the hospitals, and will have to meet certain perimeters according to the priorities of the foundation.

Joey’s advice for when the going gets tough is, “Don’t let cancer take who you were. Try as hard as you can to be the same person you were before the cancer. Don ’t let the cancer define you. You’re winning the fight.” Cindy has similar advice for parents. “Never give up, and do what you have to do to save your child. It does get better. It just takes a positive attitude and time. ”

The Rippels were blown away when Joey wanted to start the charitable organization. “You know you’ve raised a good kid when he comes up with something like that. He understood how lucky he was and that he needed to give back. Kids need a support system, a way to stay connected. The Blackberry Project will do that. I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, he gets it. He understands.’”

Joey is available to speak to organizations, schools and churches. He has already made the rounds of many of Fort Bend ’s service clubs and is preparing to continue his speaking appearances in Tyler. “I want people to put a face with this cause. I’m a real human being,” Joey said.

For more information about the Rippel Effect and Joey’s journey, visit TheRippelEffect.com or call 281-491-1819. Parents might want to check out Cindy’s blog on the Web site to get a vivid picture of the emotional roller coaster ride parents go through when their child is diagnosed with cancer. To donate, go to the Web site, or mail donations to P.O. Box 3095, Sugar Land, 77487.