This summer I will be racing in the Chicago Triathlon(8/25/24) to raise money for pediatric cancer research. 

As a cancer survivor, this battle has given me lots of time to reflect. If it weren’t for the amazing treatment I received at Lurie Childrens I probably would not be here today. In addition, while taking walks around the floor, I saw just how many people were suffering similarly, patients and parents. It pained me that chemotherapy was one of the limited options we have for survival and parents had to watch their son/daughter be tortured by the side effects of their treatment. In honor of my experience, I want to raise money to help fund their pediatric cancer research.

Any amount will mean a lot to me and the cancer community. If you can't donate please share this with your friends. Let's defeat pediatric cancer together!

For a little bit about my Cancer/Lurie story:

It was the beginning of the summer of 2023, I lived the life of an average high school graduate preparing to go to college, working a summer job, and hanging out with my friends. Attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the fall, I was enjoying the summer and was super excited to finally go to college. However, in the background, something wasn't right. Throughout the summer I had been experiencing very unusual symptoms: hip pain and heartburn. As an 18-year-old healthy person, I suspected that maybe I had pulled a muscle and assumed it would go away, but the symptoms persisted and even got worse. As August pulled around, The symptoms became unbearable, the pain in my hip prevented me from walking and getting sleep, and I wasn't able to get any food down my stomach because anything I ate, was puked right out. During the first week of August, I visited a few doctors, but never got a concrete root cause of all these symptoms. With no other option and college rolling around the corner, my mom took me to the local hospital’s ER to try to get a quick diagnosis of my issues. When the ER first admitted me the only thing off with my blood work was a low hemoglobin level. They immediately ordered an endoscopy to check my stomach. After vacuuming up my stomach of food that had been stuck, they found a mass poking into my stomach and immediately took a biopsy of it. The weeks leading up to the biopsy result were probably one of the worst in my life. I had been put on NPO, losing over 30 pounds, wasn't able to walk, and I needed constant painkillers to control the pain in my hip which only helped minimally. On August 14th, I got transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital on a very uncomfortable bumpy ambulance ride during rush hour. 

On August 17, 2023, I was officially diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkins B-Cell Lymphoma (Burkitt's Lymphoma). The pediatric cancer team at Lurie was the best experience we could’ve gotten given that I had cancer. They did their very best to accommodate the medical, mental, and physical needs I had at that time.  They put me on a plan of 6 rounds of chemotherapy with radiation and assigned me a social worker and physical therapist to try to help me get through this tough fight. I won’t get into much detail about my experience with chemotherapy and radiation as that could go on for pages, but all you need to know is that it was not a smooth journey. Luckily, the medicine wiped the cancer cells from my body, and I have almost made a full recovery.

Lurie Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders is pioneering breakthroughs that result in the highest cure rates and improved quality of life for children. Ranked among the top programs in the country, the Center is recognized for its clinical and scientific expertise and the breadth and quality of its services. Your contribution will help defeat childhood cancer.

I hope you’ll help me reach my goal in support of the patients and families at Lurie Children’s

Here’s how your donations can make a difference:

$50 could provide educational resources to help patients and families understand a new diagnosis, the different aspects of treatment and changes they will experience.

$100 can offset the cost of genetic counseling and testing services for pediatric oncology patients and families at risk of hereditary cancer syndromes.

$250 can support the banking of valuable tumor tissue specimens that allow researchers to gain insight into different cancers at all stages.

$500 supports clinical trials to help discover new or more effective treatment options

$1000 will allow us to continue to develop future specialists in the field of pediatric oncology through our fellowship training program.

All donations are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged by Lurie Children’s Foundation.

On behalf of the patients and families of Lurie Children’s, thank you for your support!