Mission Pillar: Policy & Advocacy
She Survived Cancer—Now She Pushes For Better Treatment Access
Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at four years old, Courtney Chase Simon was saved by an experimental drug. As a teen and adult, she’s raised record-breaking funds for LLS to improve patient access to effective treatments.
I ended up being in a coma at one point because of the side effects from one of my chemo medications, and they told my parents that I only had five days to live.
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Then an experimental drug ended up saving my life. The reason that we have better treatments and better statistics now on survival is because of organizations like LLS. LLS advocates for blood cancer patients and their families to make sure that our society is supporting the fight against blood cancer. They pursue equality for all people and are pursuing a cure constantly in our governments and in our systems.”
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How Growing Up With LLS Has Inspired Her To Give Back
In this campaign, I worked with many friends that I've made through my years of volunteering with LLS. I also got to involve a few of my friends from different circles. That alone was a win for me.
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My friend Saunder passed away a couple of years ago, and I wanted to honor his story and his legacy.
He was a cancer survivor, and then he got into a really bad accident. In various LLS fundraising campaigns we led, I saw how much growth he had, and part of that was because LLS supported him and because he had the support of family and friends. Getting to see the way that he got to advocate for himself was just a really special thing for me.”
LLS has fought for pediatric treatments which have not only saved the lives of many children but also give them a better future with less long-term side effects. Cancer doesn't end when your treatment is done. To know that there are kids who are going through treatment now that are going to have a better future—that's so cool.”
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My diagnosis has drastically changed to have a better chance of survival because of all the work that LLS has done.
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What it really taught me is that people want to help. You just have to give them the chance.”
My drag queen's name is Sparkle, and I definitely had to channel that drag queen powerful energy during my treatments. When I finally got out of the hospital, I thought, how can I marry my celebration of my queerness, being five years in remission in 2024 and also raising money for my Visionaries campaign? So I leveraged my community and said, ‘We're throwing a drag show, baby.’ I was able to raise so much money, celebrate my own successes, but also celebrate the other cancer patients and cancer survivors who were there.
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Mission Pillar: Patient Education & Support
He Wants No Patient To Face Their Cancer Journey Alone
Jared Lipscomb’s life as a makeup artist and drag performer was upended by an acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis. Through LLS, he accessed financial support and connected with other patients in the blood cancer community, helping him find a new purpose.
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How Fundraising Gave Him Purpose After Cancer
During all of the confusion and scariness, I was connected with the LLS and I was immediately approved for financial aid through their patient education and support program. My mom was able to get here just in time for a milestone moment in my cancer journey. I was also able to connect with people who've gone through this. I was truly a recipient of the good that the LLS does. It feels like it's part of my purpose now to pay it forward. For me, it's being a young person connected to this and wanting to know that other young people have access to all sorts of aid.”
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At 31, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. It was a total shock.
Courtney Chase Simon
St. Paul, MN
Jared Lipscomb
Los Angeles, CA
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I just hope my story has planted a seed in someone else to continue to do good or to dedicate their life to eradicating blood cancer once and for all.”
I hope to just keep the inspiration going for other people to say, ‘Oh, if he can do it on disability, coming off of a hip replacement and still be able to fundraise, maybe I can do it, or maybe I can volunteer.’
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After each of the events that we had, you just kind of sit back and say, ‘Wow, this was absolutely amazing.’ There's so many people that you could thank, but I’m really thankful for LLS, and their continued daily efforts for trying to have a world without blood cancer. Unless you're in that situation, you don't realize how important that is.”
The most rewarding thing was the generosity of people. I had people that I've never even met before that reached out.
We had a team of about 15 people when I ran for Visionaries of The Year, and they were all amazing, from co-workers to friends and my daughters.
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How Fundraising Brought Her Family’s Cancer Story Full Circle
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After rounds of very intense chemo, they did a scan and it wasn't working. That was just a really scary time because they didn't really have many more options. They tried a chemo called brentuximab, and this is something that wasn't even approved for her type of cancer, and it worked. She was finally able to undergo a bone marrow stem cell transplant. Today, Tori's a very happy, healthy, 31-year-old with two children and a stepdaughter, and is a teacher. LLS partially funded the drug that actually worked for Tori, and I feel without that, Tori wouldn't be here today.”
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After she suffered two collapsed lungs, we found out six months into my daughter Tori’s chemo that her cancer was growing and spreading.
Cari Slovak
Maumee, OH
Over a decade ago, Cari Slovak’s daughter, Tori Young, was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 19, and months of treatments were unsuccessful. Then, a drug backed by LLS funding changed everything—it saved Young's life. Slovak is hopeful that future research breakthroughs will give others the same chance.
She Trusts Research Will Keep Advancing Cancer Care
Mission Pillar: research
Tori Young
Maumee, OH
I know now after listening to those researchers that if it ever would come back, that her options are just going to be a lot better.”
I was blessed to be able to go to the LLS's national research conference in Chicago and listen to the researchers, the scientists, the people that take the money that we've raised through this fundraising campaign and learn what they're actually doing with it. Tori’s doctors made it clear: she has a large chance that her cancer could come back.
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Visionaries impact the lives of blood cancer patients.
They provide hope and inspiration, and their campaigns
directly impact the services and support LLS can deliver.”
Lore Gruenbaum
PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, LLS
Presenting
The 2025 Visionaries Of The Year Candidates
