Inspirational Stories

Quade “Q” Marks is a 14-year-old freshman at East High School in Denver, Colorado.  He loves to play lacrosse, ski, snowboard and aspires to be a trauma surgeon. He is also a blood cancer survivor.

In April 2016, Quade was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with monosomy 7, a deadly type of blood cancer not common in pediatrics. Quade was given four to eight weeks to live without treatment. After months of inpatient hospitalization, four rounds of intensive chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant, Quade is now cancer-free.

Quade is thankful to his amazing medical teams at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children and Children’s Hospital Colorado, his blood and cord blood donors, and his family and friends. To pay his appreciation forward, Quade is active with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a public speaker, fundraiser, and public policy advocacy volunteer.  He is especially interested in raising awareness and funding for cancer research and ensuring all patients have access to the therapies they need. 

In 2017, just one year after his diagnosis, Quade and his family held the first inaugural QGames: an epic ski and snowboard event at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado benefitting LLS. Since then, they have held three consecutive QGames raising over $60k. He is excited to be the Honored Hero for the 2021 Shred For Red and to take his QGames team to Park City, Utah to shred on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. 

Let it snow!