Nine years ago, our mom, Michelle Cherande, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We were only five and seven years old. Even as little girls, we knew the risks; we knew that cancer was deadly and we knew that with this diagnosis, our lives would be irreparably changed. After five months of grueling chemotherapy, our mom was given the wonderful news that she was cancer-free. 

Thanks to donors who raised money for cancer research, doctors found a cure for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cure that did not exist fifty years ago. Lots of cancers can be treated, but many can not be cured.  We are so lucky that our mom was diagnosed with a kind of cancer where researchers were able to find a cure.  We know that if she had been diagnosed with the same kind of cancer just a few decades ago, the results could have been very different. Thanks to this important cancer research, Mom watched us graduate elementary school and middle school, when we feared that she wouldn’t even live long enough to watch us finish second grade and kindergarten. 

Our experience watching our mom battle cancer, has motivated us to support cancer research organizations in hopes that one day no one will have to grow up without the ones they love. We have the privilege of being nominated as candidates for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2023 New York City Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. Student Visionaries of the Year is a seven-week leadership development program that runs from January 19 until March 7 to raise money to help blood cancer patients not only survive but thrive after treatment. We are writing today to ask for your support of our campaign and LLS’s mission to find a cure for blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients. ​​​​​​​

Thanks to your support, our efforts will ensure that this is the last generation to see cancer. 

Another way to support our team is to purchase our team merch using the links below: 

https://www.bonfire.com/notorious-cure/  

https://www.bonfire.com/notorious-cure-1/ ​​​​

Thanks so much for your support!

xoxo 

​​​​​​​Maddie & Maya