--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Beyond the Diagnosis: The Resilience and Passion of Blood Cancer Warriors image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Beyond the Diagnosis: The Resilience and Passion of Blood Cancer Warriors Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. receives a blood cancer diagnosis. While these diseases can change a life in an instant, they don’t define the individuals they affect. They are 9-year-olds with big dreams for the future, 30-somethings building careers and families, and retirees finally pursuing long-awaited passions. Standing alongside them is Blood Cancer United. Formerly The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Blood Cancer United is the largest global nonprofit focused on blood cancer patient support, research, and advocacy. On the way to finding cures, Blood Cancer United works to improve patients’ everyday quality of life—so they can do more of the things they love. ## More Than Survivors: They’re Storytellers and Artists “My cancer is the least interesting thing about me,” says Suleika Jaouad, 36\. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome at 22, she credits her identity as an artist for helping her get through it. Early in her cancer journey, Jaouad recruited her family to join her in a unique challenge: perform one creative act every day for 100 days. Her mom crafted ceramic tiles, her dad created a booklet of childhood stories, and, for her part, Jaouad picked up a pen. “In keeping this daily journal for 100 days, I shifted from feeling like I was more powerless than I’d ever been to finding a sense of agency through writing,” she says. The journal would later provide source material for her memoir, “Between Two Kingdoms.” That same creative spirit has shaped how Kat Farah, 25, processed her AML diagnosis in 2023\. An illustrator and character designer, she turned to art to make sense of the changes she was experiencing during treatment. Through an avatar she uses to illustrate herself online, Farah gave herself permission to explore how her identity was changing. In the beginning, the character reflected her pre-cancer self, with long, curly blonde hair and wearing shorts and a tank top. Now, she has cargo pants and a cropped hairstyle—inspired by how Farah looks today. “My avatar will probably change again because I will change. A big thing I’ve learned is that nothing is permanent,” she adds. Creativity comes infused with tenacity for actor and producer Roberto Morean, 30\. Diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at age 19, he was forced to drop out of NYU for treatment—but he didn’t let the disease stop him from pursuing a career in musical theater. Instead, he spent the next three years using his passion for the arts and desire to make a difference into producing his first-ever event, “Raise Your Voice: A Cabaret for a Cure.” From his hospital bed, he began rallying well-known performers to join the show. The inaugural event was a massive success, raising $13,000 for Blood Cancer United, along with another $40,000 the following year.    ## More Than Strong: They’re Fierce and Resilient For Gabriele Papa, 30, “fierce” isn’t just a word—it’s a way of living. She became her own strongest advocate during treatment for AML four years ago. Rather than letting the nurses shave her head before chemotherapy, she insisted that that important job go to her sister—the only person she ever let touch her hair. It was one of many instances that led to her being branded as a “difficult patient,” which she takes pride in. Now in remission, Papa continues to tap into her fierceness through weight-lifting. It started out with one-pound dumbbells. But over time, she has steadily built her strength. “I can’t lift heavy, but I can lift every day, and for me, that speaks volumes,” says Papa. “When I do that, I feel like Superwoman.” At 44, Stacey Moser considers resilience one of her defining traits. Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at 12, she learned early on that getting through hard things is less about avoiding struggle and more about finding ways to push through it. She has carried that mindset into every stage of life—running marathons, raising a daughter as a single mom by choice, and building a career at Blood Cancer United that allows her to turn her history surviving childhood cancer into lifelong purpose. Like Moser, Kenya Eason identifies as “resilient”—and the 51-year-old embodies it to her core. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2020, she endured several treatments during pandemic-era lockdowns, relapse, a clinical trial, and ultimately a secondary diagnosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) four years later. It was challenging, but Eason took it in stride. “I never became bitter. I just asked God to give me strength and took it one day at a time,” she says. Eason now pours her energy into volunteering with Blood Cancer United, helping to raise awareness of blood cancer in African American communities, speaking at events, and mentoring other patients.    ## More Than a Diagnosis: They’re Movers, Doers, and Problem-Solvers Rev. Dr. Arturo Pierre Lewis, 61, prides himself on staying active through life’s hardest seasons. He lives with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but for him, remaining active—physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially—has been essential. His weeks include a mix of cycling, walking, Pilates, and yoga; practicing the saxophone; teaching sociology as a professor; and leading a church congregation. “Maintaining an active lifestyle helps me take care of myself as I try to take care of others,” he explains. That same drive to keep moving forward also shows up for Joan Coprio, 65\. For her, it starts with ingenuity—finding resourceful ways to navigate both treatment and life after her double-hit lymphoma diagnosis. During weeks of hospital stays in 2017, she figured out ways to make the experience bearable, from walking laps with her IV pole to checking her reflection in the glass of framed art in the halls. “I had this insight that it’s important to me how I look to myself. It helped me get through that time,” she says. These days, Coprio puts her ingenuity to work both at home and on the job. At work, it means serving as senior director of insights and systems at Blood Cancer United. “It's a dream come true for me to be able to work for an organization that helped me so much,” says Coprio.    ## More Than Inspiring: They’re Rule-Breakers At 22, Mya Emperatriz describes herself as a “maverick.” Diagnosed with bulky Hodgkin lymphoma at 17, she powered through chemotherapy and entered remission in 2021. She’s studying drama, media culture, and communications at NYU—but she’s got plans for carving out a future that’s uniquely her own. She’s aspiring to a career in corporate HR by day and acting after dark. For Mya, being a maverick means refusing to be boxed in by cancer, or by anyone else’s expectations. “I’ve learned that you don’t have to limit yourself to one path—you can be multiple things,” says Emperatriz. When Erin Zammett Ruddy, 47, talks about living with cancer, she doesn’t sugarcoat it. For more than 20 years, the journalist and author has been managing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and being candid about what that looks like. “Some people don’t want to talk about their cancer diagnoses, but my instinct at the very beginning was to talk about it,” says Ruddy. She publicly chronicled the most private parts of her experience—including her decision to stop her lifesaving medication to have children. That willingness to lay it all bare is why Zammett Ruddy identifies herself as “unfiltered.” “\[After surviving cancer\], people expect you to be grateful all day long, ” says Zammett Ruddy. “But it’s not always the case. You’re still human.”    ## More Than A Second Chance: They’re Living Life Without Limits Not long after retiring from his decades-long career as a dentist in 2024, Robert Braun, 66, got news that upended his plans: he had myelofibrosis. Instead of planning the trips he waited decades to take, he was scheduling treatments. Still, he refused to let cancer steal his optimism. “Positivity makes a difference,” says Braun. “My father’s a Holocaust survivor, and as bad as my situation was, his situation was far more difficult. I feel like I have a gene of inner strength to survive.” A stem cell transplant offered him a shot at recovery—and now at six months in remission, he’s seizing it by pursuing his dreams of traveling. “This is like a second chance at life and I’m taking it. Every day counts,” says Braun. Jelien Ramos shares that same determination to make the most out of life—and she’s just 9 years old. Diagnosed with B-cell ALL as a toddler, she has channeled her energy into helping other kids facing cancer—becoming an advocate and collecting donations for pediatric cancer patients. She dreams of becoming a pediatric oncologist. “I want to find a medication designed for kids instead of adults and find a cure for cancer,” she says. In the meantime, she has a message she shares with anyone with cancer: “Don’t lose hope and stay strong.” Although each of their stories are unique, there is one definitive truth: no matter the diagnosis, it was their support systems that kept them united. No one can face this journey alone, and with Blood Cancer United, no one has to. Blood Cancer United would like to thank their partners, Subaru of America, Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. & Barclays  [Find Out More](https://bloodcancerunited.org/?utm%5Fsource=time%5Fmodco&utm%5Fmedium=paid%5Fdisplay&utm%5Fcampaign=modco%5Fblood-cancer-united%5Fawareness%5Ftime%5Ffundraising%5Fbrand%5Fdisplay%5F0%5F0%5F0&utm%5Fterm=find-more&utm%5Fcontent=find-more%5F1x1%5Ffind-more) Beyond the Diagnosis: The Resilience and Passion of Blood Cancer Warriors ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/blood-cancer-united/beyond-the-diagnosis-the-resilience-and-passion-of-blood-cancer-warriors/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/blood-cancer-united/beyond-the-diagnosis-the-resilience-and-passion-of-blood-cancer-warriors/"},"headline":"Beyond the Diagnosis: The Resilience and Passion of Blood Cancer Warriors","datePublished":"2026-06-18T14:27:44.296Z","dateModified":"2026-05-25T07:34:30.292Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/blood-cancer-united/beyond-the-diagnosis-the-resilience-and-passion-of-blood-cancer-warriors/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/blood-cancer-united/beyond-the-diagnosis-the-resilience-and-passion-of-blood-cancer-warriors/","name":"Beyond the Diagnosis: The Resilience and Passion of Blood Cancer Warriors"}}]}] ```