WHY I AM COMMITTED TO THIS CAUSE:

I was nine years old when I sat at my grandmother's bedside in the final moments of her life as I watched her cancer slowly shut down her body one system at a time. Cancer has prematurely claimed lives from both sides of my family – adenocarcinoma for my paternal grandmother and just two years ago leukemia for my maternal grandmother. Having experienced firsthand the effects cancer has had on the people I love, I sought to find ways to help others fight through the hard times that come with that heavy diagnosis.

And I found the best one for me - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).  They are a key partner in funding blood-cancer cures.  Remarkably, from the start of 2017 through today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved 32 blood cancer treatments and LLS helped advance 26 of these at some point in their development journey. However, maybe even more importantly, they also provide support and resources for those that are afflicted and their families. 

I am proud to have been nominated as a 2019 Students of the Year candidate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). This is a seven-week fundraising campaign that lasts from January 11th-March 2nd. My team, the Encinitas Curesaders, and I need your help in giving cancer our best shot!

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Please donate! I am asking for your support by making a generous donation to LLS via this fundraising website. All donations are 100% tax deductible (LLS’s tax ID number is 13-5644916). I hope you will consider donating to help our mission to find a cure. 

Does your company provide matching for donations? If so, this is a fantastic way to greatly increase the effect of your donation!

Like LLS, The Encinitas Curesaders are dedicated to fighting back against cancer. Thank you very much for you generosity and joining us in making an impact!

Sincerely,

Cameron Whitfield

I am honored to participate in the 2019 Students of the Year program, a seven-week initiative in which select high school students from around the country participate in a fundraising competition to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am proud to be raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero who is currently battling or is in remission from a blood cancer. Each dollar is a vote. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student(s) of the Year. Our mission is to not only raise the most money but also to bring attention to blood cancers like leukemia, which is the most common form of cancer in children and teens.

Since the early 1960s, five-year survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are helping patients with other cancers and serious diseases. In fact, drugs first approved for blood cancers are now approved to treat patients with stomach cancers, skin cancers, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

We really are changing the face of blood cancer!

All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. They'll not only support LLS-funded research but will help provide critical information and support for patients, and support advocacy for laws to ensure patients can access the care and treatments they need.

Please visit our website often and bring friends who would also like to donate!

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support!

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.