Leah is a cancer thriver. She was diagnosed with basal cell skin cancer and Gorlin syndrome on her 9th birthday. Leah has been in active treatment for cancer every single day since May of 2004.
Her journey has been very long, and quite brutal. Leah’s gone through thousands of biopsies, hundreds of surgeries encompassing her entire body, 123 of those being from the neck up alone, two rounds of chemotherapy, clinical trials, and the list goes on and on.
I was not expected to live past the age of 19. I am now 30 and staying strong in the fight! Treatments and clinical trials have helped me hit milestones doctors never thought I would hit, like graduating high school and having a child.
Leah was initially not expected to live past 19. Instead of her main focus as a 9-year-old kid being fun, school, Barbies, and playing with my friends outside, it was hospital stays, horrific pain, and the thought of “my life is going to end before it really even starts.”
Leah has been fighting cancer for 21 years, and she’s staying strong. Being diagnosed with cancer at such a young age was very traumatic for Leah, but it also taught her early on that pain and joy can always coexist with each other in this life. She wants to make a purpose out of her pain.