Throughout Hockey Fights Cancer Month, the Islanders are recognizing people who have overcome giant obstacles and survived this terrible disease. Five of these special survivors are members of the Survivors Facing Forward Program at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, located in Great Neck, NY. Today, let’s meet Crystal…

Crystal, Hodgkin's Lymphoma Survivor
Diagnosed at age 16

At age 16 I was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy at Cohen Children’s Medical Center (CCMC). I missed most of my junior year of high school and was not able to participate in sports. However, I knew cancer would not stop me from achieving what I wanted to do in life.

At age 30 I am a patient of the Survivors Facing Forward program at CCMC and am proud to be working at North Shore University Hospital as a Physician’s Assistant in the Department of Surgery.

As a leading center of pediatric oncology, the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York sees approximately 200 new cases of childhood cancer every year. This results in hundreds of childhood cancer survivors requiring ongoing care. Survivors Facing Forward is a program designed to meet the complex needs of these survivors, as well as others from the New York area. The program crosses disciplines, providing coordinated access to oncology, endocrinology, pulmonology, cardiology, psychology, nutrition and other specialists as needed. For more information, CLICK HERE.

If you have a story you’d like to share from a friend, family member, co-worker or yourself, please feel free to send it our way, along with some pictures, at nyisocialmedia@gmail.com.

Cancer doesn’t take a day off and neither will the Islanders organization as we join the fight to find a cure for cancer. If you’d like to team up with the Islanders fight and help more patients survive like Crystal, you can MAKE A DONATION HERE.