I still remember the day I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) in June of 1994. I had just finished 4th grade and was really excited about heading into the 5th grade with all my friends. One thing that bothered me though is that I had noticed a throbbing pain in my left wrist and was really concerned that I had a broken wrist – which would RUIN my summer! A number of ER doctors told my family and me that it was growing pains, but my mother and I knew it was something more. At that time, my father was building a new home for a bone specialist in Minnetonka Beach. His name was Dr. Barte. After learning of my wrist pains, Dr. Barte offered to see me. My father and I went to his office and he did more x-rays to see if the ER doctors had missed a small fracture in my wrist. He saw nothing but remembered a procedure he did as a resident. We moved from Dr. Barte’s office to the ER downstairs and he drew fluid from my wrist. The tube was literally the size of the jumbo candy canes you get in your stocking at Christmas. I watched in amazement as the syringe filled with a dark yellow fluid. I later learned that yellow meant I had an infection, not a broken bone. Whew, glad we dodged the broken arm bullet! Looking back, however, a broken arm would have been a walk in the park compared to what happened next.

The next day, I was at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis for a Bone Marrow biopsy that confirmed that I had leukemia. I remember exactly what Dr. Ciche said. “I have good news and I have bad news. Which on do you want first?” “The good news,” I shouted. “The good news is; it’s 1994. The Bad news is; you have Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.” Completely unaware of what leukemia was, I excitedly told Dr. Ciche I was leaving for horse camp next week. He solemnly responded, “I’m sorry Lyndsey but no, you’re not.” Dr. Ciche was right, instead of going to horse camp, I started chemotherapy the very next day and my new home became the 8th floor of Children’s. Although I was considered a “rapid responder” because I was 97% cancer free after only two weeks, I still went through three years of chemotherapy and radiation as a protocol. I lost my hair, became seriously ill and weak from treatment and wore “Forest Gump” braces on my legs because of my weak ankles. I am happy to say that I beat battle and has been in remission for over 25 years!

Twenty-five years later, I look back at those years and realize that it has made me who I am today and has truly changed who I am, who I want to be and how I look at the world.

I’ve made it my mission to find a cure for cancer so that kids can not only survive cancer but THRIVE after treatment!

I'm joining Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training! I'm training to compete in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in Tahoe, CA! It takes more than one person to stop cancer and more than one person to make up a team and that’s why I’m asking you to donate to my TNT fundraising page for TNT!

All of us know someone that has battled cancer – whether it’s a close loved one, a friend, a neighbor, or a celebrity, we can all agree cancer does not discriminate! It comes in all shapes and sizes and it is relentless.

Approximately every 3 minutes, one person in the US is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.

An estimated combined total of 186,400 people in the US are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2021.

New cases of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are expected to account for 9.8 percent of the estimated 1,898,160 new cancer cases that will be diagnosed in the US in 2021.