#FightinFins

I know that I said I was going to post about my first month in the hospital today, but something a little more pressing and important came to mind. My involvement with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and team Fightin Fins.

It’s absolutely insane to think that I have raised over $200,000 for my team Fightin Fins since August 2019. Let’s back up and talk about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, how and when I got involved, and where Fightin Fins stands.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was created because of the de Villiers’ desire to find more treatments after losing their son to leukemia in 1944. They believed that leukemia and other blood cancers were curable, even though they were considered fatal at the time. That didn’t stop them! They began with a small headquarters on Wall Street in New York City, and started growing by creating chapters in New York. 

As the foundation grew, they became the Leukemia Society, which they changed to The Leukemia Society of America in the 1960s. Now, the Society is dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and many other blood cancers, which is why they have become the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society(LLS).

Since 1949, they have invested nearly $1.3 billion into groundbreaking research. They are constantly making an impact on the cancer community.

Now that you know a little bit about the LLS, let’s talk about how I got involved!

We need to go back over a decade ago, way before I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Back in December of 2007, my cousin Christina got diagnosed at the age of 24 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The world of social media was very different back then(no Instagram!), and she created a Caring Bridge account to share her updates. She created a team for LLS’ Light The Night walk event, and she continued to be involved for the next 2-3 years post treatment. 

Fast forward to my story: I got diagnosed almost 11 years later in November 2018 when I was 27 about to turn 28. (I missed the opportunity to participate in that walk because the walk is normally in October.)

Fast forward again, I went to lunch with my manager in May 2019 to talk about the plans for me going back to work over the summer. She is very involved with fundraising and events for her kids, and she brought up that we should do the Light The Night walk in October 2019 and start a team. Naturally, I said “absolutely!”. 

During my 4 weeks back at work that summer, my manager and I were talking about starting to form the team. She asked me what I wanted to name the team. It didn’t take long, but I came up with Fightin Fins. I love alliteration, my last name is Finley, some people call me “Fin”, and “fighting” is a word associated with cancer journeys. It was perfect. 

In addition to that, my favorite animal is a dolphin(fins), and I chose teal because I love the ocean, and dolphins live in the ocean. It all came together so perfectly!!

A few weeks later, I found out that my leukemia had returned, and I was back in the hospital. This time would be 36 days due to 6 days of chemo, and waiting for my counts to slowly recover. 

While I was in the hospital, I had PLENTY of time to start fundraising. Once I recovered from pneumonia in my right lung, I felt fine! (Yes, I had pneumonia in early August…)

So, from my bed in the hospital, I began making posts on Instagram and Facebook. Family and friends sent out emails, and the money just came pouring in. I don’t like to toot my own horn too often, but I think I raised $25,000 in the first two weeks. And so it continued…

By the time the Light The Night walk happened, Fightin Fins won top team, I won top individual, and I won another few awards! Unfortunately I was in the hospital 1 mile away due to a blood infection and a 15 day hospital stay. I was constantly Facetimed and texted pictures and caring messages by friends and family about how much I meant to them and how much fun they had. 

Damn I missed one hell of a party!!! I had 155 people registered for the walk, my company made 100 shirts, and we got 100 white #FightinFins hats made. 

Right after the walk, I HIT 100k… it was unreal!! By the end of the year, I raised about $115,000 including a $10,000 sponsorship. 

At the end of last year I was ranked nationally:

1.       #12 individual fundraiser

2.      #2 Friends & Family Individual Fundraiser

3.       #4 Friends & Family Team

4.    Fightin Fins was #14 overall

I’m STILL in shock looking at those numbers!!

By the end of 2019, I had a pretty good relationship with many people that I worked with in my local LLS chapter. In early 2020 when I was less than 100 post transplant, and before I found out I relapsed again, LLS asked me to be the Executive Challenge Chair. 

At the time, I was in crazy lockdown(transplant related, but COVID was becoming more of a threat as well), I wasn’t working, and for many other reasons, of course I said yes! 

I also repeatedly told my contacts at LLS to keep using me. Keep using my story. Keep using my time. Whatever you need, I’ll do it. 

It’s not every day that they come across someone who has beaten cancer 3x in under 16 months!! AND, not everyone is open about their story or has the time to dedicate to giving back. I’m pretty sure I said “let’s go!!” in multiple emails and zoom calls in 2020!

Due to the situation with COVID, the Light The Night walk, and all of the LLS’ other events, went virtual as of March. I still managed to raise $98,850($97,730 from direct donations and $1,120 from selling my longsleeve #FightinFins tshirt). I AM SO CLOSE TO 100k. Please help me break $100,000!!!

If you could donate the amount of a Soul Cycle class, a round of drinks at the bar(ha I miss those!), a takeout dinner, a new sweater… lots of smaller donations will get me there!!!

By hitting 100k, that allows me to tie Fightin Fins to a research portfolio. Last year, I chose Fightin Fins to go towards Acute Myeloid Leukemia(my cancer), and my name to one of the most under recognized cancers, Indolent Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I chose to select one of the two lowest supported cancers so that I could still make a difference to that one – reference to the starfish story(more on that later). 

I am currently ranked 5th nationally, and that in itself is UNBELIEVABLE!! 

I know that Christmas is (somehow) in 3 days, but if you could make a donation to my team, that would mean so much to me! 

Here is the link to donate:

https://pages.lls.org/ltn/epa/Phi20/cfinley

Thank you everyone for your continued love and support as I continue to make a difference in the world of cancer and beyond!!!

To learn more about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, you can visit their website: https://www.lls.org/