After being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in March of 2011 when I was only 10 years old, my entire life changed and was put on hold. I went through months of treatments to slow down the cancer, looked for the best possible hospitals in my area, and was able to get a bone marrow transplant in August 2011 from my brother who was a matched donor. I wasn't even close to stopping there. Once I was feeling better, I could do home instruction school from my house so I wouldn't fall behind, and some of my friends were allowed to visit me at home. I still had checkups regularly, and today I have a yearly checkup with labs and other tests to ensure I am still healthy. I have been 10 years cancer-free since last August, and I am blessed by all the hospitals and doctors I had. Along this whole journey, I was introduced to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) by someone at my hospital, and when hearing about the amazing cause to help fight cancer with research and fundraising, I knew instantly I wanted to help. My parents helped me set up fundraising in our town's school system, and we have been a part of LLS since then. I am very lucky to have been a recipient of the LLS Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors, and I thank everyone on the LLS team!
Joe
acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
