I was in my twenties and recently wed when I began having difficulty breathing. An x-ray revealed a large mass in my chest and the diagnosis was non-Hodgkin lymphoma. My husband Josh and I were utterly devastated. We were trying to have a child and instead, there was radiation and chemo.

When therapy ended, I felt enormous gratitude for the work of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and their research funding. I gave back through LLS programs that help bring hope to others going through cancer. Still, as years went by, my own hope of having a child was hard to hold onto. And then one day, I took a pregnancy test and did a double take when it came out positive. A miracle is a lot to get in life, but I got two—survival and our son, Jaden. What more could a cancer survivor ask for?

Christen Reilert
7 year non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor