My name is Hailey Whittaker and I am 18 years old. On June 7th, 2025 right before I graduated high school I was hit with the news that I have cancer, stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, something no one wants to hear.
After graduation, I was set to start a semester abroad in Italy then live out my dreams at the University of Tennessee, but I quickly had to arrange other plans. The summer before college, the summer that was supposed to be spent hanging out with my friends, and packing for school quickly became one that revolved around my chemo schedule and how I was feeling that specific day.
But I didn't, and still haven't let that stop me. Instead, I have made the most of it and am enjoying my time at home, taking online classes, and surrounded by tons of people who have shown up with nothing but unwavering support and people who I know will only continue to do so through the remainder of my treatments and even after. I have also been blessed with an amazing team of doctors here at UCI Health that have made sure that they are doing everything in their power to make this the smoothest that it can be.
So, I encourage you to join our team, Built Hailey Tough, and please walk with us to raise money for research to better the future of cancer treatments.
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