My name is Molly and I'm a cancer survivor. I was told I had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of blood cancer on the 4th of April in 2019. From that moment my life was put on pause, and I was not sure if I was ever going to be able to press play again. I underwent several months of chemotherapy and a month of daily radiotherapy. Hundreds of needles, 11 different chemo drugs, 61 bags of chemo, too many daily tablets, a PICC line, radiation sessions, PET scans, CT scans, X-rays and having no hair wasn’t exactly how I had pictured my gap year looking. My saving grace through my cancer journey was the connections I made with other young cancer patients just like me. Cancer treatment in hard enough and having no one around you that is your age or understands is even harder. A cancer diagnosis is just as mentally draining as it is physically. However, having friends going through the exact same thing as you brings a comfort and connection that cannot be explained. I love having this platform and an opportunity to share my story to hopefully empower others to raise much needed funds and awareness. I have met more incredibly brave young people who have been impacted by cancer because of Canteen. Without friendships, support and love we have nothing. I am just so happy that so much awareness and so much good has come out of three words my doctor told me on that awful day in April. There is nothing in this world that we can truly control, so we need to grab onto life and try our best to live a good one because our life can change in a split second.
