The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Mountain Region)

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.

Testimonials

On March 7, 2023, Sarah got the call that her child “probably has cancer.”  They had been to the pediatrician the day before for her daughter Bellamy, 5 at the time, because she had very swollen lymph nodes on her neck. Her doctor recommended bloodwork, which they did that evening, and she honestly thought nothing of it. She figured Bellamy was just fighting something off. So when the call came in that next morning that Bellamy likely had leukemia and they needed to get to the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Sarah was stunned.  

The beginning of Bellamy's treatment story, not unlike most other families, is a total whirlwind. Big words, sleepless nights, endless beeping machines, worrying, and crying. Sarah didn’t yet have her bearings as they sat for almost two weeks inpatient in the hospital processing everything, and blindly taking whatever was fed to them, medicine and information. Luckily at some point Sarah was coherent enough to remember the basics in life. So together, with Bellamy’s help, we wrote out a daily checklist of things we had to do and she drew a little picture next to each line. Brush teeth, check. Sunshine, check. Dance, check. Water, check. Laugh, check. It was a basic list, but sometimes, especially when things feel so out of control, we have to revert to the most basic of things that serve us and our bodies. The list empowered them, and when they requested that Bellamy (and her pole) go outside for a walk on a beautiful March day, they looked at us like we had three heads! That day, Bellamy and Sarah walked our slowest mile, wheeling her pole around and taking tons of breaks, but it was also that day that they remembered our power to help ourselves and so our journey really began then on that sunny March day! 

Eventually, they were discharged, and the transition back home was a nightmare. Sarah had four kids needing her, all scared, a new cancer diagnosis, constant worry, and dealing with side effects from the medications. So again, they remembered those basics. Bellamy and Sarah started walking daily. Bellamy was so lethargic from the hospital, steroids and all the powerful medications they threw at her, but regardless, she started by walking to the mailbox. It was only about one tenth of a mile away, then Sarah would pop her in the stroller, and it wasn’t ever perfect but it was something and it gave them purpose and goals to work towards. 

Soon Bellamy got stronger, and they decided to start hiking locally. At first, Sarah would carry Bellamy most of the way, but Bellamy quickly began to do more and more distances on her own, and from that their 100-hike mission was born. Bellamy’s treatment plan for B Cell ALL is typically about 2.5 years long, and that seemed, and still seems so daunting, so long. But Sarah knew if they made their milestones fun and healthy, it would be that much easier for them all. Some hikes Sarah carries Bellamy, some hikes Bellamy is running ahead of me and Sarah is wishing she could carry her, but the point is that there is movement, there is sun, there is fresh air, and there is nature. Those basics have served them mentally, physically and emotionally throughout this horrible journey. 

They are so grateful for nature and exercise but childhood cancer is still very much an awful space. The funding is abysmal at only about 8% of the billions of dollars the federal government delegates towards cancers. 8%!! So with that it’s no surprise that the treatment options are outdated, and in most cases were intended for adults, just dosed for kids. Should the 17,000 children diagnosed each year in this country, have to suffer from slew the potential long-term side effects? No way. These kids deserve treatment options younger than their grandma, with less side effects. It’s easy to be upset about all of these facts, especially when it is your child. The parents of children with cancer around the world feel so unheard. They keep yelling for help, for what seems like the worthiest of causes, but no one seems to care. However, LLS has chosen to give a powerful childhood cancer warrior a platform to share her journey of healing, so that they might inspire others, but also to raise awareness for this cause.