Welcome;

Hi :) I'm Colleen, or Leen as some call me. I'm 18 and am a new college student. Last year at this time, on November 16th, 2010, I lost my best friend, my beautiful grandmother, Margaret Carr O'Riley, to leukemia. That, alone, could be my inspiration to raise awareness. However, I also lost my beautiful grandmother, Dorothy Hayes, to this illness in 1997. 


As I turn my pain into proactivity, I am attempting to start this charity to raise the awareness of Leukemia, as well as raise money for research. While my focus right now is solely Leukemia, I hope that with support of others, I will be able to expand in order to raise awareness for all types of cancer. 

I haven't done too much research. Honestly, the first thing I did was think of a name and I came up with Project Bella Vita, in English that is Project Beautiful Life. I believe that everyone deserves a full life, a beautiful life, cancer free, no matter what. Babies, children, teens, adults, and the elderly... Everyone. No chemo, no radiation, no surgery, no losing their hair, no IVs, no hospital visits...

Cancer is something that has hovered over my head my entire life. I was born and 6 months later my dad was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and in 1996 he relapsed. Given a 20% chance to live, he fought and won. He's a survivor. While he was fighting his battle, my grandma Dorothy lost her own battle on November 8th, 1997. March 1st, 2003 my grandfather Richard D. O'Riley died of lung cancer. In 2009 my grandfather James D. Hayes was diagnosed with bladder cancer, and survived. That same year, my grandmother Margaret was diagnosed with acute leukemia, and lost her battle a year later. 

Cancer is not a word I take lightly. When I hear it, all things bad come to mind. When I hear cancer, above all, the word death seems to stare me in the face. It's scary, and I worry about the ones I love. I worry for myself, my family, and my friends. I worry for the masses, because cancer sucks. No one should have to deal with that.


Project Bella Vita. It has a nice ring to it, right? I want you to rally behind me. I want you to help me fight back, raise awareness, and put a stop to this illness. 


Send me your feedback, let me know what you think. I'm new at this, I'm young, but I just want to make a difference. I'm inspired by the ones that I love most and I do this in their honor. If I try and I fail, at least I can say I tried. If I try and succeed, I'll feel like I made a difference. That's all I want. 


Continue to live la Bella Vita <3
xoxo
Leen