I'm ready to knock out cancer. Are you?

In 2014, after dealing with my grandfather's brain tumor, my grandmother, "Gaga", was first diagnosed with stage four lymphoma. After relentlessly battling through two rounds of blood cancer, she is still here with us today. Since the moment of her first diagnosis, I have wanted to make an impact on people who live similar lives to my grandmother or who may have it much worse. I am honored to participate in 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 proud to be raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero named Riley, who is currently battling blood cancer, and Gaga, who has survived two fierce rounds of lymphoma.

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.

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.

The word "cancer" has greatly impacted my generation as some have gained popularity, some have been aided by medicine, and some have mysteriously taken the lives of our loved ones. It is such an ugly word that surrounds our lives daily as diagnoses continue to flood the population, but I want to be apart of the generation that knocks out cancers entirely. 

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!

                     High fives to knocking out cancer!

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