Westchester/Hudson Valley

1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 130
White Plains, NY 10605

Honored Teammates

Meet the Westchester Hudson Valley's Honored Heroes!

An honored hero is a local blood cancer patient who is either going through or has gone through treatment. They are the faces of our mission and the motivation for all the hard work we do. They are inspiration to us all!

Sammy- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Sammy

Sammy was just five years old and two days into kindergarten when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He had been experiencing severe heart and chest pains that week, so his parents took him to the doctor. Soon they discovered he had very large mass of cells pressing on his heart and filling his chest cavity. Sammy also had a dangerously high white blood cell count. After further testing, he was quickly diagnosed with High Risk T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and was admitted to the Children's Hospital at Montefiore for treatment. After one month of extremely intense chemotherapy and eight days of radiation, Sammy went into remission. Due to Sammy's high risk diagnosis, he continued to receive an intense combination of chemotherapy medications both orally and through a port in his chest during the maintenance phase of his treatment. In addition, he took steroids and antibiotics.

Sammy was home-schooled for his kindergarten year due to his weakened immune system. He is happy to be back in school and is now a big second grader. He is six months post-treatment and is doing very well. Unfortunately, the chemo wiped out his immune system so he is now facing ALL of his immunizations again! He recently completed many months of Physical Therapy to strengthen his muscles and bone mass.

Sammy has grown his hair back and is an active swimmer. His parents teach at Prospect Hill School in Pelham, where he and his ten-year-old brother Jack are students. Sammy was a Light The Night Honored Patient, and is excited to be the Honored Teammate for the Marathon Teams!

Flo-Hodgkins Lymphoma

Flo

My name is Flo, and I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in April 2011. I was 33 years old at the time I was diagnosed, and the Cancer was first detected after going for a routine exam. Imagine my shock, as prior to getting diagnosed, I was on top of the world. I had just completed my second college degree two months prior, and had landed my dream job as an RN Supervisor at a major medical center. I always thought of Cancer as a disease that happened to other people. I never thought that it could happen to me, certainly not at this young of an age.

Being in the medical field, one would think that we would be better equipped to handle all of the implications of being told we have Cancer. Even still, in my mind, Cancer was something that killed people. I was afraid, not only for my future, but for the future of my ten year old son. As a single parent, my need to beat this diagnosis was even greater because my son depended solely on me.

After three surgeries and six months of chemotherapy, I was officially given my remission status in November 2011. I was surprised that with the advances in medicine, along with the phenomenal care I received from my treatment team, I was able to work full time the entire time I received chemo. I was even strong enough to attend my commencement ceremony at my college. My experience made me realize that Cancer is not a death sentence. And although I was lucky in my battle to have succeeded, I realized that there were others who are not as fortunate. There are also others who do not have the financial resources to get the best care possible. It was these things that drove me to give back by volunteering at LLS.

My involvement in re-tarting a monthly blood cancer support group in Rockland County made me realize that there are many people that are suffering and need our help. I speak to you on behalf of other survivors, as well as those that are still fighting their battle with blood cancer. I hope that my story will inspire you to get involved in such an important cause. I am excited to be the Honored Teammate for the Swim & Cycle Teams!

Alejandra- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Alejandra

Alejandra was an active, happy, popular little girl enjoying Kindergarten before her vacation to Puerto Rico. Within a week of returning, she had a very high, relentless fever that just wouldn't go away. When her parents took her to her pediatrician, he thought that her shortness of breath was due to her developing asthma, and prescribed her medication to help alleviate her symptoms. Unfortunately, her symptoms only seemed to get worse, and she quickly began to deteriorate. She started to look anemic and pale within a week. Her parents took her to Westchester Medical Center, where they ran tests and discovered that she had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. They then proceeded to place her in treatment, which included placing a port in her chest, several blood and platelet transfusions. The doctors informed Alejandra's family that, had they waited just one more week, they would have risked a severe cardiac arrest!

Throughout the whole process, Alejandra maintained a bright, cheerful attitude. Never once did she question why she was in so much pain, or why she couldn't return to school yet, but made sure that she always had a smile on her face.

Alejandra is currently still in treatment. She has to go once a week for her Chemotherapy appointments, and receive Spinal Taps every other week, but she is doing well and keeping active. In addition to being home-schooled, She loves dancing and singing, and is excited to be an Honored Teammate for the Triathlon Team!

If you or a loved one would like to be an Honored Hero

please contact Jincy at jincy.thomas@lls.org or (914) 821-8269