Kamalani
Kamalani survived childhood cancer and recently graduated college with hopes of becoming a doctor.
Childhood Cancer Survivor
“When you go through cancer as a child, it’s incredibly difficult to stay a child,” said Kamalani (they/them), who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at 5 years old.
Their treatments had side effects they continue to manage, such as a slower processing speed and difficulty learning. Still, Kamalani graduated with a B.S. in agriculture with a preveterinary focus and one day hopes to be a doctor. They also volunteer as a videographer and logistics team member at Camp Ānuenue, a summer camp for children with cancer that Kamalani previously attended. It was the only place they were able to feel like a kid and be around others who knew what experiencing cancer was like.
To help other young people with cancer, Kamalani hopes that “we keep working toward understanding long-term side effects and creating effective plans to get the jump on cancer.” Better data sharing could help make this hope a reality.