Hailey Eldershaw
Mes motivations:
Cancer has had a huge impact on my life.
Many people in my life have either been diagnosed with, or died from, cancer. My Grandfather and Nanny on my Mothers side both died from cancer, and my grandfather on my fathers side did too. At a young age I knew what cancer was, and heard about how my grandfathers bone cancer ate away at him until he was a shell of his former self. It was one of those things that I knew about, but had never experienced and didn't really understand.
Then a few years ago, my little sister was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (A particularly aggressive form of cancer) at age 12, and a month later my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer that had travelled to her lymph nodes. That's when I really understood what cancer was, and how it affects entire families. Even though I wasn't the one in treatment, I was scared. For my mom, and my sister. It was a really hard thing to go through, having them go for treatment regularly, all of the extra expenses, watching my little sister lose her hair, and seeing my mothers age start to show. I can only imagine how hard it was for them, and how scared they must have been for themselves and each other. Thankfully, they have both pulled through and are in remission.
That is why I am proud to be a part of this event. If I can participate in helping families get through the hardships experienced by my own family, I'm happy, excited, and more then ready to do so!