I was truly honored to be a recipient of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors. After fighting two different types of cancer, both forms of lymphoma and leukemia, I was unsure what my collegiate education would look like.
I was first diagnosed at 12 years old when I didn’t even know what the word cancer meant. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my family, laying my head down and sobbing because they told me I would lose my hair. I have lost my hair five times since.
I was diagnosed with stage 3 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the summer before my senior year of high school in 2020. It was a tough adjustment dealing with the treatment and the aftereffects of treatment while going into my final year of high school.
From December 2021-January 2022, I had just come off orientation for my new job as a registered nurse. I was working the night shift and just thought I was experiencing the "usual" night shift symptoms. I was ALWAYS tired, had terrible back pain, and had such a shift in my appetite.
