We need you! This campaign is so much more than donations, it is about all of us making a difference.

Mia Terrazas and Lauren Bough are honored and excited to announce their nomination as Candidates for the Student Visionaries of the Year campaign with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). LLS is the largest nonprofit research funder for every type of blood cancer. Since 2017, they have helped advance 70% of the blood cancer treatment options approved by the FDA. This is only possible because of people like you. Mia and Lauren are honored to take on this challenge of shaping the future of countless lives. 

Lauren is a part of this fight for her Aunt Barb. She passed away seven years ago from cancer when Lauren was ten years old. She was diagnosed with breast cancer right after the birth of her third son. She fought hard and won but was told she would have to stay cancer-free for five years to be in the clear, and if it came back, it would be terminal. Right as she was finally nearing the five-year mark, she went to the doctor because of pneumonia, but they found that the cancer had come back and spread throughout her body. She never gave up and endured chemotherapy up until her death with the hope that a new trial or cure would become available if she just lived long enough. Having seen the unfathomable pain her cousins endured when their mother died, Lauren has wanted to do everything in her power to help find cures. 

Mia’s mother, Maria, is a survivor of ovarian cancer diagnosed when Mia was in middle school. She saw firsthand the fear in her family when given the diagnosis. Although her mother had the privilege of having her cancer caught in the first stage, Mia sympathized with the thousands of individuals and families who do not have the privilege and thus are left with limited treatment plans. A sixth grader helping her mother overcome the side effects post-surgery has increased Mia’s compassion not only toward patients but toward their families who also endure seeing their loved ones in pain. Determined to fight for all cancer patients and be a part of something bigger than herself, LLS was the perfect opportunity. 

LLS has helped make life-changing advancements in the treatment of Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's Disease, and Myeloma, which has applied to many different cancers. They fund research that leads to immunotherapy, genomics, and personalized medicine breakthroughs that improve and save patients' lives. LLS is supporting cancer patients and their families by relieving some of the financial stress caused by cancer treatment and providing free education. They also advocate for policy changes to accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and care. Join them in this fight to end blood cancer and change the lives of millions. 

We need you!  Please consider joining this fight by making a donation.

Thank you for your support!

Lauren and Mia