Teens & Children

We just wanted to reach out and say how much The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has helped us. From attending Light The Night (LNT), to getting a blanket in the mail, to receiving funds when I couldn't work to keep Reid safe from the pandemic.

My name is Amanda, and I am a stage 4b classical multicellularity Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) survivor. It all started after spring break of my junior year of high school. I was on a ski trip when I noticed my feet were more itchy than normal. I figured it was from the boots. After coming home and realizing it had gotten worse, we went to the pediatrician.

I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) my senior year in high school. I went through 10 months of intense chemotherapy, and I am now in remission/maintenance.

I am writing this in 2022, but I never would have believed when acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) struck my daughter in 2013, that it would feel like we were back at step 1.

My son was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in 1992 at 7 years old. Needless to say, it was a devastating blow to our family, and we were so scared! I had just gone through cancer illnesses with two other members of my family and knew how this diagnosis went. But my son, I never thought in a million years!

Volunteering for an organization was part of my senior capstone in the Spring of 2021. I wanted to volunteer for an organization that was for the long term and meaningful to me. One of my best friends, who is also my cousin, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2020. I felt so helpless and also didn't know anything about AML, so I turned to LLS to educate myself.

In May of 2020, shortly after the first lockdown for COVID-19, I noticed a small lump on the side of my neck. Living in Southern Indiana during the spring, I usually get allergies from the fields, so I thought I just had a swollen lymph node from that. Considering I was only 15 at the time, the last thing that ever crossed my mind was the possibility of cancer.

I was a 10-year-old kid when I was diagnosed with leukemia. I was a happy, energetic kid who loved being outside and was a straight-A student. However, my whole childhood was put on hold indefinitely once I had cancer. Rather than having sleepovers at my friend’s houses, I was sleeping over at the hospital.