Search Results
Jeff & Melanie
My wife, Melanie and I had always been pretty healthy. We exercised, tried to eat right and discovered the value of meditation. But things changed in 2018.
Melanie had developed a cough that just wouldn't go away. She had it for months. And then she discovered a lump near her collarbone. Tests revealed on Sept. 6, 2018, that the lump was Hodgkin lymphoma and it was present in several other lymph nodes. She began a months-long treatment regimen of chemotherapy and radiation. It wasn't easy.
Volunteer
It all began in 2010 after my friend Cara and I ran the LA Marathon. We had already trained on our own for the 26.2 miles race. I thought, “Why not just keep running?” That’s when I found the nonprofit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and their fundraising program called Team In Training (TNT)! TNT was the only program you could volunteer with to get a secured race entry into the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon. So, I registered for an informational meeting at the mall near my parents' house, listened to the staff and coaches, as well as a survivor, and I was hooked.
Brauer
Being a recipient of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors is allowing me to continue my education and pursue the life cancer tried to take away from me. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) my freshman year of high school, and one of my biggest fears while in treatment was if I was going to be able to attend college still. I had been dreaming of attending Clemson University and having all the college experiences. I am grateful for the opportunities LLS has given me and the chance to not just survive but thrive after cancer.
Adam
I am very blessed to be surrounded by supportive family and friends and of having persistent pressure to not ignore my health. Thank you!
Rhonda
This is my second time participating in the Light The Night as a cancer survivor. I have had blood cancer twice.
In 2012 I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. After being in remission for almost 7 years on December 17, 2018 I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. I had a bone marrow transplant in March and I am in remission.
I must say I’m grateful that team NCA (National Christian Academy’s school cheerleaders) would do Light The Night in my honor.
Bob
I thought I was super healthy.
It was October 2017, and I had just run a half marathon a few days before. I went to get my blood tested to see if I still was eligible to donate a kidney to a friend who needed one. Four years earlier, I had gone through all the testing and was approved to be a donor for her, but her kidney function had improved enough that she didn't need a transplant right then. By late summer 2017, her condition had deteriorated, so I went back in to restart the process.
Catherine
I was diagnosed in December 2013 with blood cancer. I started my treatment in January 2014. I continued treatment until March 2018 until I had a Bone Marrow Transplant at Duke Medical Center.
I worked every day until it was time to take FMLA. I was out of work for 8 weeks. It's been 2 yrs 8 months. I'm CANCER FREE and I'm in REMISSION. I can't thank the physicians, and the team and God. I've retired after 22 years working for Mecklenburg County.
I received my last shots in October, and I rung the "Victory Bell" at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, NC.
Holly
It felt just like any other Saturday after my dad's birthday. He got his annual checkup and bloodwork, and we would all celebrate our April birthdays around Easter Sunday. But this turned into something unlike any other Saturday. His cell phone rang, and everything changed. He was told to go to the ER immediately because something was wrong with his bloodwork, specifically his red and white blood cells.It could have been the shock of feeling everything all at once and being numb simultaneously.
Casey
It was in May, 2014 that 24-year-old Casey Moore began experiencing her first symptoms of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). For a week straight, Casey had been vomiting every day and was losing a significant amount of weight. This was unusual, as prior to her symptoms, she considered herself a happy, healthy woman focused on her relationship and career. At the time, she was living with her boyfriend and working full time in a chiropractic office -- with no apparent signs of an illness.
Jaden
My name is Jaden, and I am an 18-year-old Political Science student at Penn State University. I have been deeply involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) since I was 10 years old, a journey that began with a profound personal experience.
Eliot
It was my senior year of high school, and I was thriving: MVP of the soccer team that went to the state finals; strong academics with an offer to study Natural Sciences at Durham University, one of England’s finest; fantastic friends who were to become even more important to me. My biggest challenge was getting a date for the prom! Things that were within my control were going really well. However, things outside of my control then flexed their powerful muscles, and that high school life ended and a new one began.
Lisa
I lost my big brother Vincent J. Di Cristo to two forms of cancer on February 14, 2014. He apparently had both high grade B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma as well as Burkitt lymphoma. I’m very confused as to how he could have had two different types of cancer because as far as I know, he was always in good health.
Janet
My caregiver journey began in 2005, when my husband found a lump on his neck and was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After being admitted to the hospital for nine rounds of chemotherapy, he went into remission.
Katie
Ten days following the birth of my son in May, I developed a mass on my upper left thigh/groin area. After several weeks of being seen by multiple physicians, it was decided that I would need a surgical biopsy to determine if we were dealing with cancer or a benign growth.
David
My dad, David, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on March 1, 1993, after looking at his blood under a microscope in college class. He started three years of intense chemotherapy on March 8, 1993, and finished it on January 26, 1996, while a third-year medical student. He was told that there was a 50% survival at five years and 30% survival at 10 years and that he would likely not be able to have children. During that time, he got married. Two years after finishing chemo, my oldest brother was born. I have three older brothers and an older sister.
Christopher
Christopher was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on July 9, 2012 when he was 10 years old. After feeling tired and experiencing bone pain and headaches for three weeks, he went to the doctor. A requested blood test revealed leukemia cells.
Krystina
On June 13, 2014, my sweet daughter Krystina Sharpe Perry was diagnosed with PH positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Unfortunately, all her chemotherapy treatments didn't seem to work.
After a year of chemotherapy, Krystina and her doctor decided to do a stem cell (umbilical cord blood) transplant. She had the procedure on July 1, 2015 but her body couldn't fight the infections. With a low immune system and three trips to the intensive care unit, her kidneys, lungs and heart just couldn't continue to function.
Kate
On May 17, 2018, our family was thrown into the world of blood cancer. Our family's patriarch, our bonus dad, and our beloved "Candy Boy," as he was affectionately nicknamed by his youngest daughter, found out that he was in the aggressive stages of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Liam
One of the Boston Bruin’s biggest fans, Liam Fitzgerald garnered national recognition as the “fist bump kid” and went on to raise almost $153,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to help fight blood cancers.
Childhood and Young Adult Resources
On this Page:
Resources for Children, Young Adults and ParentsOne-on-One Support
Jude
At age five, on my fourth day of kindergarten, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). With the 85% survival rate for ALL, I was confident I would go through this for the next three years but one month later after the induction period, my doctor told us I didn’t respond and I may need a bone marrow transplant.
Nicole
I’m an eight-year survivor of leukemia. I was a happy, healthy young adult. I noticed my body was bruising, and I would fall asleep at work. I didn’t think anything of it, but the bruising kept coming. I have twin girls, and on their birthday, July 1, I went to the ER. They ran all kinds of tests. I felt fine actually. They came back and were talking about white blood counts and oncologists. I knew right then and there it was cancer. I had an appointment with an oncologist on July 5, my mom’s birthday, and went back to the ER. This time I was admitted. I had no idea what was going on.
Cathy
I decided to call my cancer the “little c” rather than the “Big C.” I wasn't giving it that much power over my life!
Bill
My name is Bill Bannon. I am a semi-retired child support magistrate for the Minnesota State Courts. In April 2017 I experienced shortness of breath, a sore-throat and bleeding gums. I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), was stabilized, and started on intensive chemotherapy. It was soon learned that I had a FLT-3 mutation of this cancer, the most serious and difficult to treat. The only possibility for any chance at survival was a bone marrow or umbilical stem cell transplant (BMT). I chose to continue my treatment at the University of Minnesota.