Helena Strong

On September 10, 2019, Helena was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL, which is an aggressive form of Leukemia which attacks lymphocytes, the cells that are supposed to protect us from infection. With ALL, the treatment is equally aggressive, consisting of several rounds of chemotherapy, full body radiation and stem cell transplant of bone marrow. Some of the treatment steps happen together at the same time but not all of them, which extends the overall treatment time. The initial chemotherapy takes weeks and requires the patient to be hospitalized and watched around the clock for side effects and infections. Health insurance helps to cover parts of the treatment steps but each day in the hospital, each procedure and each test and treatment all contribute to a very challenging financial part of being a cancer survivor, as well as for all of the family members that are directly impacted as part of this diagnosis and journey.