Dear Friends and Family, 

Today more than a million Americans are fighting a daily battle with blood cancers. In just 3 minutes, by the time you have finished reading this letter, another person will have been diagnosed. I’m excited to be joining the battle to help those living with blood cancers, and I’ve been nominated as a candidate in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) 2022 Student of the Year fundraising challenge. I am proud to lead my campaign team and work towards our goal to raise $40,000 during the next 7 weeks (February 10th – April 2nd).    

As most of you know, this mission hits close to home for me. In October 2019, I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system. I went through 4 cycles of intensive chemotherapy. I was one of the lucky patients who responded well to my treatment, and a few weeks ago, I passed my 2 years in remission mark. But many blood cancer patients are not as lucky as I was. Even of those who are cured of cancer, 80% of childhood cancer survivors experience health complications after treatment from the toxic chemicals that are supposed to help them. We need better cures and more of them. 

Large or small, your contribution to this worthy effort will be greatly appreciated! Help be part of the cure and help my team, Team Cure It!, compete in the 2022 Seattle Students of the Year campaign. For more information about LLS and Student of the Year, please visit www.studentsoftheyear.org. 

Sincerely,  

Elsa Aslanian 

2022 Student of the Year Candidate