Fandoms have the power to unite disparate groups of people and build thriving communities with shared language and values. They can spark intellectual discussion and provide safe spaces for emotional vulnerability. Fandoms even offer hope and engagement during times of need.
Cancer Gets Lost co-founder Jo Garfein believes in the beauty of fandom, and she has devoted her non-profit organization to harnessing the positive power of fandom to support cancer patients and cancer research: “The vast online fan communities for every aspect of pop culture and beyond are the reason that Cancer Gets Lost (CGL) raises money every single year, and so we are very grateful for the communities out there.”
While the project started as an ode to Garfein’s beloved Lost fandom, she is happy to provide a space in which “people feel like they can give back and make an impactful difference by bidding on a signed photo of Pedro Pascal from The Last of Us or by bidding on a set of Bob’s Burgers pins from San Diego Comic-Con 2024… There is something for everyone.”
“I always envision myself standing on the corner, and the intersection is pop culture and philanthropy, and I’m holding up a sign that says, ‘follow me!’” Garfein explained.
She is always looking to invite new fandoms into the project, and this year is no exception: “I have some very rare Funko Pops signed by Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza from Agatha All Along [as well as] some comic books and some art and some pins…I have a [Yellowjackets] Pop signed by Jasmin Savoy Brown, who’s fantastic… I even have an Elphaba Pop signed by Cynthia Erivo, which is mind-blowing.” Garfein is also excited about CGL’s first foray into the world of sports merchandise. The 2025 auction offers items like a Super Bowl jacket, unique NFL team sweatshirts, and WNBA merchandise. Of course, countless other fandoms are represented amongst the 130 items in this year’s auction.
Each CGL auction supports a specific organization working to support cancer patients or research. This year, 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Lymphoma Research Foundation. “I’m doing that in honor of my brother, who is thankfully in remission right now, and all families out there affected by blood cancers,” explained Garfein. Unfortunately, this is not the first time her family has been affected by this type of disease: “My dad passed away from a different rare blood cancer, which is very unusual, a few years ago. The Lymphoma Research Foundation [has] been spectacular in terms of providing resources for my own family.”
While a vast array of fandoms are represented in the auction, Garfein has a couple of items in mind that are likely to raise the most money. One item hails from the marketing push for award season darling Severance: “it’s the super rare promotional Apple TV plus Severance cardboard vending machine that contains nine very cool individual boxes with items in them, including a set of new AirPods with a cover that says ‘innie’ on it. There is a squeeze toy version of Lumon goat…there’s a mug that says Lumon. It is such a great collector’s item for fans of Severance or pop culture in general.”
Another key auction item hails from the Lost fandom that first inspired CGL: “the number one item, as usual, unless I’m very surprised this year, will be the script, the Lost pilot script, signed by eleven cast members, because it is super rare…It is actually signed by the season three cast…It is a photocopied script, but the signatures are all authenticated and it’s very cool to have an Elizabeth Mitchell [signature] on your pilot script; you also have people like Terry O’Quinn that don’t necessarily do conventions.”
Of course, Garfein wants to make sure that fans with any sort of budget can channel their fandom toward the greater good: “We have several [affordable] items. Now, they may not stay that way, but at least they’re starting that way, and it gives people an opportunity to try and contribute…There are a lot of $10 t-shirts and canvas bags from different fandoms in this auction, so I think people should have a chance to at least try and get something they’re interested in.”
For fans who can’t make a monetary contribution at this time, Garfein is incredibly thankful to anyone who is willing to help spread the word: “Honestly, [one of] the biggest contributions you can make will be helping us signal boost the auction on your social media of choice…We just ask that you literally copy and paste the URL for our website or maybe take a screen grab of something from Instagram…our kind fans, with their word of mouth, always come through for us. And we’re very grateful for that.”
Fans who would like to contribute without adding to their personal collections can still support the cause, even without participating in the auction:
“If you make a donation in any amount from now until the end of the year to the Lymphoma Research Foundation, send us your receipt. We will literally make note of that and we will add that to our grand total of fundraising under the umbrella of CGL. Also, you can go to cancergetslost.org, hit the donate button and donate directly to CGL. We donate every cent of that… we’ll send you a CGL wristband if you live in the United States or have a U.S. shipping address, we’d like to just give you a little something as a thank you.”
Building positive communities around fandom has been part of Garfein’s life for quite some time. “I wasn’t necessarily a huge sci-fi person until The X-Files, and then all of a sudden, something switched in my brain. I watched Lost and I went,’ oh, oh, I need a notebook,’” Garfein explained.
“I started sharing some theories on MySpace. Then my coworkers at the time were obsessed with the show. We would literally meet at the water cooler the day after the show aired… I started a Lost blog. And I said, this is a kind space: no spoilers and constructive feedback only… it sort of took off, especially when Facebook came around, because some of the people’s names I recognized from the credits started adding me on Facebook and they would send me messages, like, ‘hey we really like your analysis because you don’t post spoilers, unlike so many other sites out there, and you’re trying to keep the integrity of the show alive.’”
This vibrant and positive fandom environment led to the formation of Cancer Gets Lost at the end of the show’s run in 2010. It all started when Garfein gathered with some of her fandom friends: “When the show ended I had all these kind followers across social platforms… and we went to the Lost official auction in August of 2010. We couldn’t afford a thing, but we had the best time watching all the props and costumes and pieces of our favorite show be auctioned off… but also a little disappointed that ABC didn’t donate any of the proceeds to charity.”
This prompted Garfein to try her hand at auctioning off some items from her own collection: “I had a friend with a brain tumor in her twenties and I wanted to do something for her… so I [organized] a little online auction. And then Jorge Garcia [the actor who portrayed fan favorite Hurley on Lost] reached out because he saw that on my blog. So it all sort of came full circle. He offered a piece, a small piece of the Oceanic airplane that he had and he signed it and he donated it. And that’s just sort of like the, you know that emoji where your brain’s exploding? That kicked off CGL….” In the early days of the non-profit, CGL mostly relied on the support of the Lost cast and crew: “Our first [auction] was mostly Lost and other Bad Robot shows like Fringe, then [the cast and crew] would move on to other shows and then they would tell their co-workers, producers, writers, etc. and this is how it blossomed.”
While Lost is no longer the sole focus of the auction, there are plenty of items from the series up for auction this year, such as a poster signed by showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, a Lost magazine signed by Josh Holloway, and a physical copy of the recent Getting Lost fan documentary on which Garfein served as a producer. Of course, Lost is always wired into the spirit of the auction; this year, the auction dates are structured around Lost’s mysterious sequence of numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42: “We like to pay homage. For example, our auction starts on 8/15 at 8:15 a.m. Eastern time. We are nerds. And so every starting price point in this online auction is 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, or 42.” It’s also worth noting that the final auction date will be August 23.
Of course, Lost alums continue to give back. One of CGL’s biggest supporters is actor Michael Emerson, who portrayed Benjamin Linus on the show. “Michael Emerson is the sweetest human being,” explained Garfein.
“He quite frequently visits his storage units and his homes and just emails me out of the blue…he’s been on not just Lost, but Evil and Person of Interest…for this auction, he sent his chair backs from both Evil and Person of Interest…He doesn’t just sign [them], he’ll then initial the other side so that you know it’s him…He [also] sent me his pilot script for Person of Interest with his own notes, which is super rare. And the most entertaining part about it is that they watermarked [the script] with ‘Mike’ Emerson. Who’s ‘Mike’ Emerson? Nobody calls him that. It is such a collector’s item because of that.”
In the early days of CGL, Garfein auctioned off some very large items: “After the official Lost auction, I put an alert on eBay… a few years later I got a ping for a piece of the Oceanic 815 airplane…it took up like the length of the backyard fence and the guy selling it said, ‘my wife will divorce me if I don’t get rid of this.’ Obviously he wanted to sell it for a lot of money, and I said, listen, I want to buy it for my non-profit…So he sold it to me for $250… Thankfully, I had a friend [with a van] and also a friend who was a metal worker. [They] got the airplane wing, had it professionally cut into eight pieces, and I put six of them in the auction. I think they raised $7,000.” Garfein even auctioned off Lost Season 3’s infamous fish biscuit machine to Saturday Night Live’s Bobby Moynihan.
Since then, she has had to become a bit more discerning: “One time [Michael] Giacchino shipped a piece of the temple set; it was a styrofoam, spray-painted piece…and I had to store it in the garage, which is not ideal temperature-wise.” Nevertheless, Garfein is eager to hear from both collectors and folks in the industry looking to give back: “DM CGL on Instagram or email us. I get inquiries almost daily from fans, collectors, cast, crew. It’s fantastic.” Garfein says she will consider all inquiries and let folks know what she will be able to sell in the auction, but she will be excited to thank you for your efforts no matter what.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the efforts people make to support one another. As Garfein likes to say, in a riff on Lost character Jack Shephard’s famous monologue:
“We have to give back!”
