Young Adult

My son, Jaiden was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on November 21, 2018. Prior to his diagnosis, Jaiden was a very well-rounded athlete and he played almost every sport, until one day during a football he fractured his arm and was done for the season. Needless to say, he was in a cast for 6 weeks.

Freia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at the age of 8. She and her family had just landed in Denmark for a family vacation when her parents noticed something wasn't right. After several trips to the hospital, they drove to Sweden where Freia’s grandparents live. It was there that her family heard those awful words, “Freia has cancer.” 

In January 2021, I received my diagnosis after five months of multiple doctor visits, blood work, and biopsies. I had no common symptoms, such as night sweats or fatigue, just a small lump behind my ear. It was removed, and the pathology came back as non-cancerous. About six or so weeks later, another lump showed up.

I am Towanna, and I am a lymphoma survivor! I have been in remission for 17 years and counting.

My brother was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in September 1996 and passed away in April 1997, his senior year of high school and less than a month after turning 18. As a young person watching my brother suffer through his cancer diagnosis and subsequent death, it took away pieces of me that I will never get back.

In April 2020, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). My life was turned upside down after this diagnosis, and I was in extreme denial even months into my treatment. I was forced to go through six months of chemotherapy and two surgeries to treat it. Being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 20 in the midst of a pandemic taught me many things.

I’m a musician from Missouri, now Tennessee, named Jashon Hockaday (Jae Alxndr). I’ve been making music in the fore- and background for a while now. My life changed when I was diagnosed with primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) of the mandible.

As a First Connection volunteer with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for almost two years, I have had the opportunity to connect with patients and survivors to share their stories and experiences while battling this deadly illness. Every day I come across so many touching and courageous stories that inspire me to do more and more to support this cause.