Support Abbey's fight against Hodgkin's Lymphoma

It takes a village ... Meet Abbey! Abbey is 25 years old and was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer.  Abbey is full of life, resilient and those who know her can all agree, they've never met anyone quite like her. She is an extremely talented photographer, hard worker, and phenomenal friend. Abbey cares deeply about her friends and family and would do anything for anyone. 


This is her story:

●   Abbey’s symptoms began with constant, long-term exhaustion, night sweats, weight loss, itchiness, and trouble breathing. Abbey then noticed a lump growing on the right side of her neck and took action, leading to 6 months of intensive testing. After getting the swollen lymph node biopsied, Abbey's team of doctors diagnosed her with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Abbey was diagnosed at stage 2B with the cancer having spread through her lymph nodes, around her collarbone, and in her upper chest and throat area. 

** Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a rare but treatable form of blood cancer that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Most of these cases are people 18-35 years of age, and fewer than 3 out of 100,000 people are diagnosed with HL every year. 

●   Abbey is currently undergoing fertility treatments to freeze her eggs prior to beginning treatment, with hopes to one day have the ability to start a family of her own.  She will be starting ABVD chemotherapy at the end of September and will be receiving treatments for the next 4-6 months with the hope of being cancer free in 2022 and remaining healthy for the rest of her life. 

●   Abbey is committed to paying forward the support, love, positivity, and generosity she has received and has hopes to one day advocate for and support people who have been in her situation. 


Cancer does not wait, and neither should we. By donating, you are helping fund the following expenses:

●   Fertility treatments and annual fees to freeze her eggs so that when she beats this cancer, she'll have the option later in life to raise a family;
●   Subsidizing Abbey’s income as she had to take a step back from her career to undergo treatment and focus solely on getting better;
●   Medical expenses not covered by insurance;
●   Personal & family necessities (food, medical, lodging, transportation, etc.) during this difficult time;
●   A wig, and other physical and mental health services that help Abbey feel like herself while undergoing treatment.


Anything and everything is appreciated, even just a simple share. Cancer has no chance against Abbey, she is the toughest person around! Send your love and support! She's got this

A little more from Abbey herself via Instagram:


"Hello Friends! 

I have a life update to share with all of my friends, family, coworkers, and community.  a couple weeks ago I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. If you haven’t heard of HL before, it is a cancer that primarily effects younger people. Although it is rare, it is extremely treatable and I feel good about the prognosis (almost 90% and I’m young, strong, and healthy).

 Initially this news was as devastating and shocking to me as it might be to whoever is reading this. If you know me personally you know how profoundly life changing and difficult it was for me to watch my mom go through treatments for breast cancer and help take care of her the last couple of years. To know that I will have to face my own battle now and my greatest fear in life has been an emotional roller coaster. Scary as hell, some days I am really depressed and anxious, sad, angry, embarrassed, bitter etc. but other days I feel empowered, strong, and at peace knowing this journey is mine to own and I’m gonna kick its ass and have a story to tell.

Starting in a couple of weeks and for the next ~6 months~ I will be undergoing ABVD chemotherapy to help rid my body of the cancer. I just got a surgery to get my port (that’s what the weird bump is in my chest now) which is how they put the chemo into your body. I am also undergoing fertility treatments currently to freeze my eggs with the goal of still being able to have children someday. It is a lot of appointments every day, a LOT of needles (Lord have mercy on me… the girl with a fear of needles...) and a lot of ups and downs.

At first I was so sad, angry, and embarrassed that I swore to myself I would try to keep it as quiet and private as possible. I want to thank two of my allies and friends for helping me come to the conclusion that I have nothing to be ashamed of, and maybe sharing my journey will help someone’s friend, sister, brother, daughter or son who may get diagnosed down the road.  @baywood and @mommabails thank you for sharing your courage and wisdom with me and for being two angels to one struggling person. Because of them, and my incredible support group of my family, neighbors, coworkers  and friends, I know I don’t have to do this alone.   

One of the hardest parts for me to wrap my head around is that losing my hair and eyebrows is pretty much inevitable.  I don’t consider myself a vain, materialistic person but being a woman in my 20s who does love makeup and hair and looking girly and beautiful, obviously I’m thinking wow being bald is gonna suck. But another thing I have learned already is that your attitude is EVERYTHING. Why does my hair determine my beauty? Why can’t I decide to own my look regardless? So I chopped my hair off. I dyed it pink. I will inevitably buzz it in the next coming weeks as I start treatment. You all know I’m a huge fan of silk scarves so those aren’t going anywhere. I’m hoping to invest in a good wig or two so that I can have options to feel girly, but I’m not afraid of rocking a buzz cut anymore either. I’m still me, cancer or not. I still am determined as hell to live my life to the fullest and get every experience I can under the sun. 

More than ever, I feel incredibly grateful. I am humbled to wake up in a comfy bed every day. I’m humbled to have insurance that covers a large amount of the treatments I have to undergo. I’n humbled to already have experience with cancer and chemo, which has erased a lot of the fear behind this disease.  To have the best mom  in the entire world who has been in my shoes before and is truly the greatest gift to me. to have my best friend and boyfriend Kyle walk through this with me and make me feel secure and loved, and the absolute greatest friends in the world to cheer me up. You all know how much you mean to me.  

If there’s anything I want you to take away from reading this, it’s that I don’t want you to feel bad for and pity me. I have the opportunity to have a second chance at my life. Although you don’t get to control the circumstances of fate, you damn well get to make the decision on how you respond to it.  I am not the first person in the world to go through something really hard, and I won’t be the last. But I can choose everyday to be grateful for the journey I was given.

Another thing that I have learned is to ALWAYS listen to your intuition, especially concerning your health.  It took me a long time to get the answers that I wanted, but because I monitored my symptoms closely and chose to seek out doctors and trusted medical advice, they were able to catch it relatively early.  If I didn’t take a hands on approach, I believe I wouldn’t have been diagnosed until much later in the process. Listen to your body. Become an advocate for yourself and don't be afraid to ask questions.  Don’t ignore your body's warning signs. Don’t keep moving through life because you’re too busy or don’t feel like dealing with it. This is the only body you have, take care of it. Life is a gift not to be taken for granted as most of us do. 

 I will continue to live my life and share with you all my journey. I don’t want cancer to take over everything I’ve worked so hard for, whether it’s my career that I have had to take a step back from, my mental health, my physical health eating well and working out at the gym, my financial well being that I’ve saved for, and my relationships. I am ready to accept the many changes that this storm will bring, but I will always put my heart into finding that positive place in the midst of darkness. I will always find reasons to laugh, joke, and smile, and am hoping to make the best of this experience by inspiring others to do the same in their hardships, big and small.  I hope to come out on the other side of this as an advocate and support system to other young men and women who have been diagnosed. 

Feel free to ask me any questions, or to share with me bits of advice, quotes, stories, or even just funny memes that have gotten you through tough times. I am an open book and will continue to share this journey as well as all of the other amazing moments in my life. Thanks for being apart of it. ❤️"


A quote that has gotten Abbey through tough times:

“Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments. 

To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity.” 

- Pope Francis