Shannon Millar-Hopkins

I have been participating with Light The Night for over 2 years now.

AML completely changed my life. It caused me to take pause and remember the important things in life and that tomorrow is not guaranteed. My now husband and I were married shortly after my diagnosis for this very reason and it was the best decision I ever made! The diagnosis however has had an impact on our ability to have a family, which is something that is almost more difficult than the diagnosis.

I participated in the event many years ago, before I had a personal connection to blood cancer. It was just such a powerful and emotional evening. After my diagnosis there was no question on whether I would participate. This is my second year as a survivor with a white lantern!

My family, friends, and coworkers have been extremely generous. To reach over $6000 in fundraising I posted on social media. I also work for a tech startup here in Toronto called League. We develop a health and wellness platform. My work was able to add a way to donate to Light the Night through our app and so many people from my company were so generous!

The event brings a lot of hope. In my first year I stood on stage with a number of other survivors and it was amazing to see how many of us there were. It’s also an amazing way to remember those that lost their battle and acknowledge that there is still a long way to go to ensure no one has to go through this again.

Canadians should support the blood cancer community because while the survivor rates are getting better, there is still less than a 50% 5-year survival rate for many patients with blood cancer.