I was diagnosed on February 21, 2020, with stage 3B nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma (NSHL). I was attending UNLV and working on finishing my prerequisites to apply to the nursing program. One month later, COVID hit the U.S. and shut everything down. I had to go to all of my appointments alone. I was able to freeze my eggs before starting treatment two days later on April 3, 2020. I felt like my entire world had been turned upside down, just for the entire world to descend into chaos. It was a very scary and stressful time. Thankfully, I responded very well to chemo and am now in remission. I have since changed my major to Social Work and hope to help people in any way I can. I am two semesters away from graduating with my BSW, and I am planning to apply to an accelerated MSW program.
I began volunteering with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a First Connection Volunteer and have met some of the most amazing people through it who I still talk to on a regular basis. I applied for the LLS scholarship over a year ago and was informed that I wasn’t among the recipients. However, I received an email a few months later stating that they had opened it up to include more recipients and that I was one of them! I was so ecstatic that I started crying. This scholarship has enabled me to have less stress in my life about finances. LLS has truly changed my life for the better.
Haley
3B nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma (NSHL)
