Hello, I’m Jack Musella of Team Cancer Curesaders. This is my first year fundraising for LLS, and I am excited for the opportunity to help others via this wonderful organization. I’m 16 years old, and I am a sophomore at Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia.  

I’m doing this because I want to make a difference in the world. Most households are affected by cancer in some way, and I want to help.  In my family alone:

• I have had two grandparents with colon cancer, and my grandfather lost his fight before I was born.
• Two of my great-uncles are currently battling multiple myeloma.
• A family friend (survived by a spouse and five children) passed at a young age of multiple myeloma.
• Kelley Feeney, for whom this campaign is dedicated, died at age 36 on Nov 8, 2012, from leukemia.  Kelley was the sister of a very close family friend.  She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan honors program and earned her M.A. in journalism from Columbia University in 2001. She was a journalist and adjunct professor at Kean University and William Paterson University. An avid writer, traveler and athlete, she was a regular contributor to the New York Times and completed the Rome Marathon.

Kelley was an amazing young woman, full of life and love when she was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia.  Like so many others diagnosed with blood cancers, while the research and cutting-edge developments have vastly improved over the last decade, sadly we still do not have a cure. Leading science tells us that adults make an estimated astonishing 35,000 choices a day.  The vast majority of those are semi-conscious but hundreds are calculated, conscience ones.  Each decision has direct consequences, good or bad. As author John C. Maxwell famously put it, ‘Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.”  Today, in honor of Kelley’s memory, I choose to do what I can to make a difference.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was built on the vision of a better world without blood cancers. I share that vision and this year, I’m proud to be a part of the LLS Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign, but I also need your help.

As a global leader in the fight against blood cancer, LLS:

• Funds cutting-edge research leading to breakthroughs in immunotherapy, genomics, and personalized medicine that are improving and saving the lives of patients.
• Provides free education and support for blood cancer patients and families, including personalized, one-on-one support, assistance with identifying and enrolling in clinical trials, and more.
• Mobilizes thousands of advocates to drive policy changes that accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and break down barriers to care.

Please consider joining this fight by making a donation. All donations are greatly appreciated and tax-deductible. Please share my website and tell friends who would also like to donate!

Thanks to your support, my efforts will help ensure this generation is the last to see cancer!!!!
On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you!

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