The day before Thanksgiving 2016, Lindsey and John Gray received a phone call from their pediatrician: their oldest daughter, Lily, needed to go to the emergency room. Her labs had come back abnormal, and the diagnosis was confirmed the next day: leukemia. This was the beginning of a two and a half year process, for Lily and her family. Today, Lily has been off treatment since February 2019 and her numbers remain normal. The Gray family feels honored to stand with other families in their cancer journey and heal their own hearts.

Jayden is an amazing 17-year old student at Clarkston High School and we're grateful to have him as our Honored Hero. While he is unable to play football anymore, he definitely enjoys watching! He also enjoys great food and playing video games. Here are a few words from his mother, Tanisha Scott, as spoken at our Students of the Year Kickoff on February 1, 2020.

I am a lupus survivor and I was on dialysis when at the age of 10, Jayden was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. To say that I was devastated doesn’t even rival the hopelessness that invaded my soul. I was already on the battlefield soldiering through my own health issues, and I was so scared, “How would I be able to care for my child the way he needed?” continually reverberated in my head. There are no words that can describe a mother’s feeling of helplessness when she can’t kiss the booboo away, then witnessing the many losses her child would face...the physical: hair, weight, the ability to stand, mouth sores that make it difficult to eat, the emotional: the feeling of defeat, depression, lack of confidence. All of these I struggled to see Jayden battle. But it was my faith in God that brought us through this valley. It was the determination and the Godly wisdom of his team of doctors and organizations such as LLS that championed us on.

LLS, I pray that God continues to pour back into you for all the love, encouragement, and support you give to families. Thank you for electing my son Jayden to be your Honored Hero. Navigating through his new normal has not been without its challenges, but because of your efforts, you have given New Hope, New Possibilities, New Life, to so many families, and I thank God that Jayden and I are among them. Thank you.

Meet our Lincoln, NE Students of the Year Honored Hero! Maggie is a loving, kind, funny, and smart daughter. On May 31, 2018 we took Maggie to the doctor for a fever that had persisted for over a week. We thought it was an ear infection that she couldn’t shake. The doctor drew blood and told us we needed to go to Children’s Hospital immediately. The next day they diagnosed Maggie with ALL: acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Maggie has already completed a year and half of treatment, with another 9 months to go. She’s faced many struggles along the way, but we keep her number one goal to remain a kid and live the life she deserves.
Written by: Meagan, Maggie's Mother

Meet Asher! Oregon & SW Washington's 2020 Boy of the Year. Each year the Oregon & SW Washington chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society selects a Boy of the Year, a pediatric cancer survivor who the Students of the Year and Man Woman of the Year campaigns all raise money in honor of. This year, we are so thrilled to have Asher and his family with us! 

Asher was diagnosed at just 2-years old with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He's a total sweetheart who loves ice cream, Sesame Street, and also has Down Syndrome. His amazing mom, Shay, told LLS staff that LLS helped her afford rent while she took time off of work during Asher's treatment. He is one of the thousands of incredible children LLS supports every year and whose life is impacted by the efforts of our amazing volunteers and the donors they connect our organization to. Asher is now in remission! Look forward to meeting him and his beautiful family at our Grand Finale Gala on Sunday, March 8! 

by: KOIN 6 News Staff

Posted: Jan 27, 2020 / 02:00 PM PST / Updated: Jan 27, 2020 / 05:19 PM PST

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — More than a half-dozen local students just embarked on a 7-week campaign to raise tens of thousands of dollars — and they’re all vying to be the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student of the Year.

“It’s an amazing thing for these children to be involved in helping fund-raise for an incredible cause, which is to find new cures for blood cancers,” said Dr. John Godwin of the Providence Cancer Center.

To kick off the Student of the Year competition, all of the candidates were invited to learn more about the research the campaign helps to fund.

“Here at Providence, we have an incredible amount of research into blood cancers,” said Godwin.

Students had an opportunity to meet with leading oncologist, Dr. Godwin, and tour the research lab at the Providence Cancer Center.

“I think it sort of gives them an insight and excitement of what research can do to fight cancer,” said Godwin.

To read the full article, go to: 

https://www.koin.com/news/students-raise-money-for-leukemia-and-lymphoma-society/

The 2020 Boston Students of the Year campaign has officially kicked off! You can support these amazing 26 high school students in their mission to fight blood cancer by making a gift to any of the candidates listed above. Just click the "Donate" button under the team you want to support. These incredible students are on a mission to raise $250,000 in the next seven weeks - you can help them out and follow their journey on this page!

Candidate Teams

• Hoppas for Hope
• JCStrong
• Lucky Stars
• Rally4LLS
• AddieStrong
• Fighting 4 Ren
• Change the Game
• Dynamic Impacters
• MAVS

Team Members

• Debra Hoppas
• Angie Delamore
• Andy McCarty
• Krista Sanderson
• Jenny McCaig
• Kim Wilson
• Jason Wilson
• Trisha Walls
• Charlie Walls
• Vanessa Foster
• Marsha Crane
• Eugene Crane
• Kali Slobojan-Lee
• Renee Stallard
• Sarah Draper
• Julie Greathouse

Samantha Diaz (Sammie)

Newport Harbor High School

Age: 17

Diagnosis: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Sammie was diagnosed December of 2017, after she had fainting spells at school and home. When she went to the doctor they said that she was anemic and would need to go get a blood transfusion immediately. She then found out that she had leukemia. She began chemo immediately, and eventually needed to get a bone marrow transplant. Her younger sister Syanti was her donor. She had her last chemo treatment on 8/13/18. August 2019 she is considered to be cancer free, after last biopsy.

Hobbies: She LOVES to sing, and dreams of becoming the next big hit on the Billboards. She is in honor choir at school, and will be visiting NY in spring 2020 for a choir competition that she had to put on hold when she was diagnosed. Her choir teacher fundraised on her behalf so she could afford to go to NY. Sammie also participates in dance at school and enjoys learning about the different cultures and styles of dance. When she has time, Sammie volunteers at school, tutoring, daycare, and teaching. She has learned to play piano, ukulele, electric and acoustic guitar, and violin.