Lauren is a 16-year-old honor student who loves to shop, dance, and play the viola. She has always had a passion for travel and for giving back to her community, and she spent the summer before her freshman year of high school touring Europe and volunteering at a local church summer camp. The following summer was quite different: Lauren was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma in June 2012 when she was 14 years old.
Lauren’s cancer diagnosis made her realize what really matters. “Life has become more precious,” Lauren says. “I appreciate my family more and value our time together.” Now a junior in high school, Lauren has finished treatment and is looking ahead to a bright future. She plans to study biology in college and go on to medical school to become a pediatric oncologist, where she will devote her career both to the treatment of kids with cancer and to the research to find cures.
Courtney Ortiz Photography
Lauren is one of five St. Baldrick’s Foundation 2014 Ambassadors, representing the thousands of kids touched by cancer each year. Learn about how you can help children with cancer just like Lauren, or donate to childhood cancer research in her honor.
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