Teen With Cancer Uses Make-A-Wish To Share Story Of Sexual Abuse

    Considering the pain Lena Strickling has endured throughout her life, it would be understandable if she used her one Make-A-Wish to lounge on a remote, sandy beach far, far away. But Strickling, who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was sexually abused by her father, isn’t one for idling. Instead, the 18-year-old decided to use the opportunity to help empower young people who have undergone similar traumas. Strickling asked Make-A-Wish, a nonprofit that grants free experiences to children diagnosed with life-threatening diseases, to fund a video that would allow her to tell her story. She also invited her two close friends, Mariah and Peach, also survivors of sexual abuse, to share their experiences and encourage others to speak out. If the determined advocate comes off as glib while talking about cancer, it’s because she is. Though the disease took her hair, caused her to go through menopause and may result in lifelong nerve damage in her arms, legs and hands, cancer is not her prime concern. “Cancer never bothered me at all versus with sexual abuse. It’s like [the abuse] happened and it’s still haunting me,” Strickling told Lindsay Schrupp, who produced the video with Collectively.   Strickling knew early on that her diagnosis would take her from her from home in Alaska to Seattle Children’s Hospital, but that her chances of survival were high. She didn’t have anywhere near as much certa...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news