Search Results

AnnaKate

In my junior year of college, I felt so sick that I would sleep through online classes, throwing up every couple of days. I thought I was just stressed and not sleeping enough at night. However, a month later, a relentless cough took over. It was nonstop ― cough after cough and nap after nap.

Gary

In 1999 I had a lump on my neck, and after strong urging from my wife and my mother, I finally went to my family doctor. My white blood cell counts were really high, and antibiotics didn't help. Eventually, a biopsy indicated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).  

Bryan (Hennessy)

My name is Bryan, but most know me by my stage name Hennessy Williams. I was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin Burkitt lymphoma (BL) on July 1st, 2005. I was 20 years old.  It was the hardest battle I ever faced, I am lucky to be here, I am lucky to be alive. I am alive because I had a tremendous amount of support from my family and friends, not everyone is blessed with this option.

Madison

On April 23, 2020, at the age of 15, my whole world changed. I got the call that I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) while getting ready for a birthday party. Throughout quarantine, I had to undergo four cycles of chemotherapy and 14 days of radiation consisting of countless days in and out of the hospital. I had allergic reactions to a few of my chemotherapies which caused me to stop breathing, and they happened at least once every cycle which was scary. My hair eventually started falling out in clumps, and the day I had to cut it off was probably when I cried the most.

Campbell

Hi!  My name is Campbell Brandt.  I am 9 years old and a student at Spring Run Elementary School in Chesterfield County, Virginia.  I love to dance, play softball, ride my scooter, sing karaoke, listen to music and watch the Disney channel.  I like to dance and sing to Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.  I am a pretty typical 9-year-old girl, except that I have fought cancer.

Sarah

I am the mother of Madelynn, aka Maddie, who was diagnosed with biphenotypic acute leukemia (BAL) on March 13, 2023, following months of illness initially thought to be a sinus infection. Despite multiple doctor visits and two trips to the emergency room, it wasn’t until Maddie’s condition worsened that she received the correct diagnosis, which involved both acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with the Philadelphia chromosome. Maddie immediately began an aggressive chemotherapy regimen and spent the first month of her treatment in the hospital.

Jania

In November 2018, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It's a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that progresses very rapidly. When I was initially diagnosed, I believed my life was over. As a seventeen-year-old high school student attending school from a homeless shelter, going to bed hungry most nights, I considered dropping out to help my mother with my younger sister and brother. I couldn't fathom the financial burdens that would follow with medical treatment. I felt like the more I attempted to correct things, the worse they became.

Ashley

My name is Ashley, and I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on February 21, 2024, during my junior year at Texas Tech University. I was struggling with my health for a couple of months but brushed it off as being tired from schoolwork as well as thinking I was just dehydrated. I was student teaching at a nearby elementary school when the school nurse told me I should go to the emergency room and get looked at due to my heart rate being so high.

Coy

My son, Coy, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) on May 5, 2023. He was a junior at the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) and had just won national runner-up in the NCAA Division III national wrestling tournament in March. He was a 4.0 student and had just been selected as Regimental Commander for the fall of his senior year. He returned home to secure and begin treatment. It was a challenge getting him into treatment, however, with great persistence, he was able to secure treatment with Dr. Allison Rosenthal at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jude

From 2013 to 2014, after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Jude endured four cycles of intense chemotherapy, lengthy hospitalizations, difficult side effects, and months of home isolation. Jude's younger brother, Finn, was born in May 2014 in the middle of Jude's chemotherapy cycle. In August 2014, his family finally celebrated as Jude finished the more difficult part of treatment.

Rashad

"Rashad!" As I looked around, I realized she was calling me.

What happened next was like a scene from Charlie Brown, as all I could hear were mumbled words. I began to reminisce about what I used to be ― a collegiate athlete in the best shape of my life.

This couldn't be my new reality; this couldn't be happening to me! What did I do to deserve this? Why is it happening to me? I'm sure you can relate to this reality if you are reading this.

Jonathan

Life is such a blessing. Sometimes we think that there’s no way out, we limit ourselves, or we simply think to give up. Truth is, like we say in my family, “Solo hay que estar vivo para ver cosa,” or “You only have to be alive to witness things.”

My parents are first-generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic. I am a cancer survivor.

Tatijane

On February 19, 2021, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), both B and T cells, and given six to eight weeks to live. I was 24 years old. I was diagnosed alone in the ER because of COVID-19 protocols and unable to see my family and friends in person for a week or two because of testing, port placements, and biopsies. It was like an earthquake that shook up my life as well as all my loved ones’ lives, and all I wanted was to hug my mom.

Kassandra

Exactly a month before my 24th birthday, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). As a young adult, hearing the words “you have cancer” come from a physician’s mouth was earth-shattering, to say the least.

Prior to my diagnosis, I had been working in clinical research and was enrolled in a Biomedical Science Master’s program with hopes of continuing to medical school and becoming a physician. However, my career aspirations were placed on hold when I received my diagnosis. Immediately, my dedicated student lifestyle turned into one of a full-time patient.

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Amina

I’m 22 years old, and I have stage 3B Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

Zeena

As an oblivious 14-year-old, I never imagined that I would soon go through the most difficult journey of my life. While on summer vacation with my family, we quickly realized I was not my energetic, joyous self. My favorite activities seemed like energy-draining tasks, and my large appetite had suddenly disappeared. The once quick trip up the stairs turned into a painful trek up a mountain and a walk down the street to a treacherous marathon with no end.

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.

Christopher

In January 2013, I was diagnosed with PH+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). I had just turned 19 and finished my first semester at the University of Florida. I missed the rest of my freshman year but after eight months in and out of the hospital, I achieved remission and my doctors allowed me to go back to school for the fall.

Neil

It all started with what I thought was an injury to my right hip from "banana boating" while on a family vacation in Myrtle Beach in 2006. The pain wouldn't leave, so I went through physical therapy with moderate success. But night sweats, incredible nightmares, and utter exhaustion were also taking place. The doctor decided to do a scan. The abnormalities showed that a referral to an oncologist was needed. It all went downhill very fast from there with liver failure and fainting spells. I was a Spanish teacher and could barely make it through the day.

Riley

On March 28, 2018, my husband brought Riley, my sweet, spunky six-year-old, to the emergency room for unbearable leg and hip pain, so unbearable she could no longer walk. I had a baby at home who wouldn’t take a bottle, so I had to let Tim, her dad, take her in without me. We were expecting to hear that she had a bone fracture or maybe even that something was broken.

We were not prepared to hear that she had cancer.

Every single day more than 40 parents will hear those exact same words, “Your child has cancer.”

Nick

My former student, Nick K. was a previous honoree of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). Diagnosed with a PNET brain tumor at age 4 and enduring two bouts of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as a result in the years to follow, Nick was obviously a fighter!

Will

In April 2021, as I was just starting to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I started to feel unwell. I was suddenly very tired and could not finish a soccer match. My family and I decided to reach out to our family doctor and look into my fatigue; we were not worried at all. We attributed my symptoms to adolescence and growth, and so did our doctor at first.

Megan

Megan is my daughter. She was diagnosed in April 2020 with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) at the age of 16. At the time, Megan was finishing up her sophomore year of high school. Due to the pandemic, school was virtual, and even though she had a month and a half to go, she finished with straight A’s while receiving chemo. She would go on to have four cycles that included 16 rounds of chemo. Her cancer was still not completely gone, so a 21-day regimen of radiation was administered.

Justin

In March 2012, when Justin was in the sixth grade, he started to rapidly lose weight, was experiencing extreme exhaustion and night sweats. After multiple visits to the doctor but no answers, his parents finally took him to the hospital for more intensive testing, including a bone marrow biopsy. One day later they received the shocking diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia.