I am honored and humbled to share with you that I have been nominated to be the 2019 Students of the Year for the Rocky Mountain chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as their first ever blood cancer survivor! This campaign is an annual opportunity for students to come together with one mission in mind, to raise money in support of LLS.  The kick-off date of this 7-week campaign is January 10, 2019, and I am so excited to start my fundraising journey to support past, present, and future persons impacted by blood cancer.

As you may or may not know, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the most common form of blood cancer in adolescents and young adults, when I was only 13 years old. This diagnosis flipped my life upside down. Facing 2 ½ years of intensive chemotherapy, that had side effects almost worse than cancer itself, was extremely difficult. I still continue to endure the side effects of my treatment, most recently seen during my knee replacement in mid-December of 2018. I am happy to announce that I am over 4 years into remission, and only 9 months away from reaching my cancer free milestone.

At LLS, their mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Although LLS does have a focus on blood cancer, their outreach has begun to stretch across cancer boundaries and revolutionary approaches for blood cancer are now being tested in clinical trials relating to illnesses like breast cancer, diabetes, brain cancer, bone cancer, multiple sclerosis, and many other cancers and diseases.  These treatments are now saving the lives beyond those diagnosed with blood cancer and expanding the impact of the research conducted.

It is a privilege to be working so closely with such an influential organization in the cancer community. My personal connection to the mission of this campaign has led her to set my sights high, with an ambitious goal of raising $30,000 during the 7-week fundraising period from January 10, 2019 to March 1, 2019. With the prominence of cancer in our modern world, I have found that many people have a connection to cancer whether it be to blood cancer or not. LLS continues to make medical advancements that benefit blood cancer and various other cancers, but not without the help of people like you and me.

That's where YOU come in!

With your help, we can take one step closer to curing cancer. The Students of the Year campaign is all about dollars raised and every dollar I raise is a vote for me and a vote to cure cancer, so no donation is too small. You can make a tax-deductible donation to campaign through this website or mail a check to the LLS Rocky Mountain address with my name in the memo line to LLS Rocky Mountain, 720 S Colorado Blvd Suite 520-N, Denver, CO, 80246. Don’t forget to ask your place of work if they are willing to match your donation and share this letter with your family and friends who might have a mission connection. Your donation could be the donation that leads to a life-altering clinical study or a new break-through treatment. I know since my treatment, a mere four years ago, so much has already changed and improved in the ALL protocol and will continue to advance with the help of LLS until a cure is found. Thank you for your consideration of supporting my campaign for LLS.

Check if your Company will match your gift here!