I am Eileen Vélez-Vega, mother of a beautiful girl, I am an Aviation Engineer, I am a survivor of stage IV Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin Lymphoma and I am part of the Puerto Rico LLS team working to raise as much as possible in a 3-week period. Every dollar we raise counts! Please join us in supporting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) by making a donation to our fundraising campaign “Puerto Rico Fighting Blood Cancer”.
Over the years, support from people like you has been responsible for the blood cancer advancements that have doubled, tripled, and in some cases quadrupled the survival rate for some blood cancers.
And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are now used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers. They're even being tested in clinical trials for patients with a range of cancers including lung, brain, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. LLS funded drugs like Gleevec, Sprycel, Arinza, Tasigna and Zolinza are now being tested for patients with other non-cancerous diseases like Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis.
We really are changing the face of blood cancer! We really are getting close to our goal of a world without blood cancers!
All donations are greatly appreciated and tax deductible. They'll not only support LLS research, but patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services as well.
Please share this link with friends who would also like to donate and help us fight blood cancer!
On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support! For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org
We invite you to read the story of
Eileen Vélez, LLS Honorary Patient:
“Every day is a gift and God never gives anything that we cannot handle!”
My name is Eileen Marie Vélez-Vega and my cancer battle began on August 30th, 2010 when I was admitted to the emergency room with pain on my upper left rib, coughing and with difficulty breathing. The ER doctor suspected that it was a blood clot and suggested a CT Scan. The CT scan results were devastating and a surprise to my doctors, my family and everyone that knew me. After many biopsies and an outpatient surgery of an enlarged lymph node on my neck I was diagnosed with Stage IV Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin Lymphoma. I had been fortunate (according to my doctors) to have a highly curable and common type of lymphoma but there were bigger things happening in my life. At the time of my diagnosis I was 5 months pregnant with my first baby. My doctors and I agreed that we could wait until the baby was born to start my treatments but my health began to deteriorate rapidly and I began chemotherapy at 7 months pregnant. I maintained a positive outlook and faith in God and my doctors that my baby and I would survive. On December 28th, 2010, after 2 days of labor, my husband and I welcomed to the world a healthy baby girl named Anna Isabelle. I was constantly reminded and inspired by my baby why it was so important to stay positive and fight for my health. After 12 rounds of chemotherapy, I was on remission and back to my life as a civil engineer and even better, a new mom living life happier than ever. Life would never be the same.
Today my baby Anna Isabelle is 5 years old, healthy, happy and growing beautifully. Unfortunately during my 9-month checkup on February 2012, I heard the horrifying words: “It’s back”. My cancer was back and whoever said that Hodgkin Lymphoma was the good cancer to have was wrong. No cancer is good to have and it affects our lives as well as everyone we know and especially those that love us. God will not give us anything we cannot handle and He must believe I’m a very strong person!
My chemotherapy treatments started immediately and after I complete 8 sessions, I went through an autologous stem cell transplant at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL on July 9, 2012. The reoccurrence rates after transplant are still high especially since I relapsed before I met the 1-year remission mark but I have faith that this time I will stay on permanent remission. Today I’m a 2-time survivor and I’ve been on remission for almost 4 years. I’m happy and living a full life so I can see my baby grow up. There is nothing in this world that I want more.
Since my cancer battle began I got involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Survivor Support Groups and sharing my story to help other cancer patients and their caregivers. On November 2011 and 2012, I participated in the West Palm Beach LLS’s Light the Night Walk where I was an Honored Hero and raised approximately $5,000 for blood cancer research. I was so inspired by the many donations that I received from friends and family and even strangers that I further my involvement in the LLS and completed two half marathons with the LLS Team In Training (TNT) program. I’m determined to continue my involvement with LLS and currently I volunteer as a Patient Advocate as well as in the First Connections program to help the newly diagnosed patients.
I truly believe one of the purposes for my fight with cancer is to inspire others. According to my doctors my transplant date was my new birthday, so I’m celebrating my life and my many blessings!
Eileen M Vélez-Vega