My name is Jasmin, and I am 20 years old. I am sophomore/junior in college, and generally, I can always be found working or hanging out with my friends and family. I am really happy with my life now, but it wasn't always that way. On March 1, 2019, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of 14. As a freshman in high school, you are just starting to figure everything out. But fourteen is a hard age to be. So when I was diagnosed, I was heartbroken. I had so many plans for high school. I was supposed to be making friends, going out, going to school - not rotting in a hospital. Treatment was hard for me, and I spent a lot of time wondering if I was going to get better.

But I did get better, and it's been great for the most part. If you follow me on social media, you'll see pictures of a college girl living her best life - which is partially true. But the hard truth is that I have several side effects due to the treatment, which cause me to be in pain all the time. I also have some mental health issues that were either caused or made worse by having cancer. It's hard because I often wonder what life would have been like if I didn't have cancer.

Other than my mental and physical health issues, I am pretty happy with my life, and I am so grateful that I get to live that life the best I can. I will forever be grateful to my doctors, nurses, and the friends that I met during my cancer journey - because they helped me get through all of this. Also, thank you to my parents and family for always being by my side through everything. Without all of these people, I would not be where I am right now. Now that I am where I am, I can see why everyone told me that it would get better even if I didn't like hearing it.

Written by Jasmin

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip