Hi, I'm Rancin and I am in my senior year of high school. I absolutely love running and was excited about my last season of Cross Country. I donated blood in Sept to the Blood Bank of Hawaii (because why not help others when you can) and after that my running and endurance plummeted. I couldn't breathe or recover. I was so tight, sore and tired. Even though the season lasted another 6 weeks after my donation, I never was the same. I went from being in the front of the pack last season to the middle and struggling this season. When I went in for my 17-year-old check-up, my mom spoke to my doctor about my struggle recovering after my blood donation. We did labs thinking I may still be anemic, but we found out something much worse. I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia a very rare pediatric blood cancer. Only 150 pediatric patients get diagnosed every year.

We need to start treatment immediately and go up to Kapiolani frequently for testing and checkups Lucky for us, we have insurance through my mom's workplace. The problem is we still have co-pays for the treatments, flights, and tests. Due to the state of my cancer, treatment will be long and drawn out, (at least 5 years) but may never fully go away, so I may need treatment forever. We are not sure how much our out-of-pocket cost will be, but we are thinking the cost of my medications and the flights and tests may max out our out-of-pocket costs. On top of that our insurance reimburses about $70 for a round-trip flight. The positive part is that it looks like I can be home and do my treatments by pill, and apparently 90% of people go into remission. This treatment is not as bad as inpatient treatment for acute leukemia, but from what I was told it is still gonna suck.

My doctor said maybe if I'm lucky, I will be well enough for track season if I do well on the medication. So if you can help me get my treatment and not have my family go into significant debt, it would be greatly appreciated.

So once again; Hi, I'm Rancin! I just turned 17 years old and I'm in my senior year of high school. I have a family that loves me a lot. I have a great group of friends. I work part time as a dishwasher on weekends. I love anime and video games. I take fun Santa family pictures annually. I am one step away from getting my black belt in taekwondo. I enjoy sports but especially cross country and track. I want to go to UH Manoa and get my degree in mechanical engineering. I also now have cancer. If you could help out and donate so I can get treatment without my family going into debt, it would be very much appreciated. A donation as little as $5 and spreading the word would mean the world to me and my family.