For seven months, doctors told me it was meningitis.

On the other end of six lumbar punctures, multiple biopsies, and ER visits I'd rather forget — I was finally diagnosed with Splenic Marginal Zone Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, one month before my 23rd birthday.

I was at risk for stroke, had severe cognitive symptoms, debilitating migraines, and half of my body would go numb. For months I saw infectious disease specialists, neurologists, and oncologists who couldn't find it.

The cancer had gotten into my central nervous system. The average age at diagnosis for SMZL is 65–70 years old. My oncologist said it was as rare as seeing a penguin in the wild... wearing a top hat... and shoes... and a sparkly bowtie.

After four rounds of immunotherapy, I started on targeted therapy — a few pills a day that allow me a quality of life I couldn't have imagined a year ago. I'm still here. Still showing up. Still wearing colors.

Why this foundation exists.

As a Community Outreach Volunteer with Blood Cancer United, I've spent a year supporting Laura Diaz's Spanish Education Programs and sharing my story across San Diego County. In 2024 I ran as a Blood Cancer United Visionaries of the Year candidate — a 10-week campaign that raised over $90,000 for blood cancer research.

But I noticed something, over and over: sorting through resources as a young adult with cancer was its own battle. Every patient I met was tired of clicking through sites that weren't built for us. Every family was drowning in PDFs and phone numbers.

FIGHT4 is what I wish I had. A single, trustworthy place — vetted by young adults who lived through treatment, speaking the language we actually speak, pointing to the help that actually exists.

By the people, for the people.

FIGHT4 is built and vetted by young adults who have been through cancer treatment themselves. Every resource on this site was personally used or reviewed by someone who understands what it takes to use it.