Hi, I'm Lily Bowen and I'm a sophomore at Monarch High School. I run cross country and track. I enjoy the outdoors, hiking, and skiing. During the summer I love to wakeboard and surf. My favorite food is Mexican food and my favorite color is pink. Family is the most important thing to me. I love spending time with my family and friends. 

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I am incredibly honored and excited to be nominated to participate in the Students of the Year campaign for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). 

I have decided to “sign up to save lives” because I want to improve the lives of these patients and their families. My grandpa, Doug Jones, is also a huge reason why this campaign is so important to me. He was diagnosed with Colon Cancer in 1995 when my mom, Maya Bowen, was a senior in high school. He fought and battled it for almost three years and unfortunately lost the battle as cancer progressed to other organs in his body. He passed away when my mom was 20 years old, exactly one week after his 51st birthday. The same year he was diagnosed with cancer, his older sister, Lynn, was also diagnosed with colon cancer, indicating a strong hereditary predisposition to this horrible disease. Thankfully, Lynn is in remission and has continued to live a full life. Although I was never able to meet my grandpa, I have always felt a very close connection to him through my mom. During my mom's last time with him, he told her that he would always be with her and will continue to “send her signs”. I personally have felt and witnessed these signs that my grandfather once spoke of, and I feel his presence with me always. I know my grandpa would have been a huge role model to my brothers and me and I wish we could have met him. I’m also doing this for my mom because I can see how losing her dad to cancer has affected her life, but still, she is such a bright light in my life. Although he didn’t battle blood cancer specifically, seeing the effect that cancer had on him and my family makes me want to help in finding a cure for blood cancer. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t just the case for our family, globally, almost every individual has or will be at some time in their life, personally affected by cancer. It is hard to comprehend how this disease still affects one in three people today even with all of the advancements in medicine and science. Specifically, I am focusing my campaign on research for blood cancer therapies and cures. Since 1949, LLS has invested over 1.5 billion dollars into cancer research leading to breakthroughs in immunotherapy, genomics, and personalized medicine that are improving and saving patients’ lives. Additionally, many patients with poor prognoses and limited options have been saved by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy which LLS has been an investor since the early 1990s. T-cell therapy, along with many other therapies LLS has contributed in, has been life-changing to cancer patients all around the world.

My campaign to be the Student of the Year ends with the Grand Finale Gala on March 4, 2023. I’m so thrilled to help an organization that is working to save lives daily and find cures, but I need your help! First and foremost, please consider sharing my letter with as many connections as you have. Secondly, you can help by making a tax-deductible contribution on my website dedicated to this campaign on this webpage. You can also mail in checks, they can be made payable to LLS with my name (Lily Bowen) in the memo line and mailed to LLS Rocky Mountain at 720 S Colorado Blvd Suite 520-N; Denver, CO 80246. Remember to ask if your donation can be matched by your company. Also, please share this letter and my website with your friends and family! Emails, social media, or send this letter by mail to individuals you know will increase the impact of your donation. It is amazing how so many people have a connection to the fight against blood cancer, and even other cancers and diseases LLS supports. Every single dollar counts, no contribution is too small! Thank you so much for your generous support. Don’t forget, your donation is providing life and hope. I appreciate all of you who will consider making a donation or spreading my campaign to your friends and family. I can’t express how grateful I am for any help and support you will give me.

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.