My son Ollie was diagnosed with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma ALK Positive (which is a blood cancer) at age 7. He suffered two relapses in his brain, went blind and had a stem cell transplant with our daughter's cells in July 2020. He has now been in remission for 5 years and is thriving, despite living with long term side effects like blindness, hypothyroidism and osteopenia.
A blood cancer affects the entire family and our whole family continues to advocate for better cancer care, supports, and research. I a member of the LLSC's Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) and a Family Advisor on a childhood cancer study that LLSC is currently funding at the CHEO Research Institute.
Ollie was featured in last year's annual campaign and i will be part of the Ottawa ceremony this year. You can learn more about Ollie's story here:
https://youtu.be/56jj4jQ5eWI?si=fLOPZ4aPSfTH47VW
