In April of 2018, I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma. I didn't know exactly what this meant, I just knew that everything would be changing. I went through rigorous treatments for 6 months, and I lost all of my hair. At 16 years old, that was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. However, I embraced my baldness, and I embraced my sickness. I knew I was strong enough to beat my cancer, and I was going to prove it. When I found about LLS, I was already in remission, but I still wanted to get involved. My neighbor told me about this campaign, and, being as excited as I was, I set up a meeting the next day. I am excited to educate many people on what LLS is, and what it does. I think that everyone should know about a resource as good as this one.

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 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.

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.