I am honored to participate as a team member for the 2019 Students of the Year program, a seven-week initiative in which select high school students from around the country participate in a fundraising competition to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero who is currently battling or is in remission from a blood cancer. Each dollar is a vote. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student of the Year. Our mission is to not only raise the most money but also to bring attention to blood cancers like leukemia, which is the most common form of cancer in children and teens.

I signed up for Students of the Year because I have experienced firsthand the debilitating effects that leukemia had on me and my family. It was three months before my 2nd birthday when I was diagnosed with this disease and am incredibly fortunate to call myself a survivor today. Although I do not remember a lot of my treatments, I do know I spent a lot of time in the hospital.

Some facts about my treatment include:

·       36 hospital admissions

·       4 bone marrow extractions

·       28 spinal taps

·       11 different types of chemo

·       16 blood transfusions

·       2 ports

·       1 life threatening complication from the chemo

Even though it was scary for my parents, I am thankful that I was the first kid to go through my clinical trial at UIHC. This trial has done so well it is now the standard treatment. I’d like to think that the research they used on me will now help many other leukemia patients.

Since the early 1960s, five-year survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are helping patients with other cancers and serious diseases. In fact, drugs first approved for blood cancers are now approved to treat patients with stomach cancers, skin cancers, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

We really are changing the face of blood cancer!

All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. They'll not only support LLS-funded research but will help provide critical information and support for patients, and support advocacy for laws to ensure patients can access the care and treatments they need.

Please visit our website often and bring friends who would also like to donate!

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support!

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.