Ryan Holeywell, Executive Director of Mission Communications at The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Talk about some powerful women! I wear a lot of hats at Blood Cancer United, but there’s nothing I enjoy more than guiding volunteers around Capitol Hill to meet with their elected officials. This week, I was joined by:
- London, a thriving 14-year-old who speaks French and plays flag football for her high school team. She was diagnosed with leukemia at age 8 and has come a long way since she endured treatments so toxic they took away her ability to walk and write.
- Rose, London’s mom, who’s an oncology nurse at a military medical center. She cares for adults facing cancer – and was by London’s side through two years of treatment.
- Nila, an entrepreneur whose son Rajan – now in high school – was diagnosed with leukemia at age 9. She fought to get him the best treatment possible, even when she had to battle with insurance companies to get care only available in another state.
They joined me – and 200 families touched by pediatric cancers – as we urged Congress to cut the red tape that too often prevents kids with Medicaid from getting timely cancer care. We also told members of Congress how they can take important steps to accelerate research that will bring us closer to better cancer treatments for kids.
I’m in awe of these volunteers. And I’ll be honest: if I had been through what they endured, I just don’t know if I’d have it in me to share my story over and over again.
But I’m so grateful for London, Rose, Nila and all the other volunteer advocates working with Blood Cancer United. They give advocacy its soul — transforming policy work into something human and hopeful. And we just couldn’t do this work without them.
Want to send a message to your lawmakers? See here!”
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