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Eve Georgakopoulos

For most of us, the memory of our 18th Birthday is a fond one. It is one of candles, cake and celebration. A memory full of excitement and curiosity of what years to come will bring, and not a worry in the world but the thought of becoming an adult. But, for Eve Georgakopoulos, this was not the case. On her 18th birthday, Evelyn got a call from her doctor that would change her life forever. After a month of lumps growing all over her neck area, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on May 18th 2009. Lymphoma is a type of cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes. It is characterized by the orderly spread of disease from one lymph node group to another. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is most common among people ages 15 – 35. As can be imagined, being told she had cancer at such a young age effected Eve’s family and personal relationships, and left her physically and mentally drained. She underwent therapy after therapy as she watched her, already petite, body become half the size and all of her hair fall out. Nausea and vomiting became routine, and she was forced to leave her school and normal adolescence behind, to become a cancer patient. All this, in front of the people she loved. As she and her family struggled to keep things together, she battled through her chemotherapy, and was able to beat the disease. Yet, the cancer left behind a weak young girl having to restart her life and try to make it “normal” again at such a transitional age, and a stack of bills. Nonetheless, the forever looming memory of her illness, and the fear that it will show it effects in years to come. The Georgakopoulos Family have been active members of the Greek Community for years, and have volunteered countless hours to help their church and its parishioners. Hearing, that people such as these, were undergoing such hardship, we knew we had to help! We, as a large Greek and Cypriot community, have an obligation to help OUR OWN. Afterall, there is nothing greater, and more powerful, than helping those in need when they need it most.

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