I would like to introduce everyone to my little warrior, Hunter. When he was just four years old, he had an enlarged stomach that just kept getting bigger and bigger with no answers as to why.
Where do I begin? I am a 2x acute myeloid leukemia (AML) survivor with being diagnosed for the first time in 2008 at the age of 38. My family and I received amazing support through The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) both emotionally and financially with the co-pay program, webinars, and information guides.
My brother Hopoate is a leukemia survivor. At the young age of 2, he was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and finished his chemotherapy when he was 4-1/2 years old. He has been cancer-free for about 17 years now. He is now 21 and thriving.
We began volunteering with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) annual Light The Night (LTN) event in high school. Our hearts were touched by the courage and stories of empowerment present at the event, so we came back the following year, and then the year after that, and so on.
Twelve years ago, I found out I had stage 4 grey zone lymphoma (GZL), a hybrid lymphoma that only about 10 people have had and only about three people have survived.
My story starts when I was just eight months old. In March of 1994, it was discovered that I had a cheek tumor. Doctors removed the tumor, and I was treated with chemotherapy.
