My son, David, was 13 years old when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). My husband and I are both medical professionals, and cancer never entered our minds when David exhibited signs of fatigue, sore throat and listlessness.

Cat is a graduate student, a dog owner, an academic fraternity member and much more. Nothing can slow her down – not even a cancer diagnosis.

If spring is best greeted in a garden then I was fortunate to be in Buffalo in the spring, while my husband Roman was receiving his BMT at Roswell Park. We had arrived in mid-March (just as winter was ending) for Roman to be admitted. I was staying at the nearby Kevin Guesthouse.

A solid ten years of dreaming and planning finally came to fruition only to go up in flames thanks to a 30-minute doctor appointment on the Upper West Side. The culprit? Cancer.

Cancer treatment can vary widely, depending on the type, location, stage and many other factors. A side effect of some treatments is pain and discomfort for the patient.

In June, More than 50 local teen cancer survivors, patients and their guests enjoyed a night of dancing and fun at the fourth annual prom hosted by Carly’s Club, a social support program at Roswell Park.

Three days after Emily’s 19th birthday, she received the devastating news that she had stage 3 malignant melanoma, one of the most serious forms of skin cancer. She was given less than a 59 percent chance of surviving the next five years. In a state of shock, she felt her only options were fight or flight – to face her diagnosis head-on or to live in fear – and she chose to fight.

I hope my story can help someone else, especially other young moms. So many people are depending on you, and it can feel so overwhelming. You’re tired and emotional, but you have to be strong in front of your kids. You don’t want them to worry, and that alone makes it doubly exhausting.