My name is Ashlee and I am 17 years old. I will be starting the BSCN Nursing program next year, and my favourite thing to do is horseback riding. I have a little brother named Justin who was diagnosed with cancer at 11 years old. It has been over a year now since he started chemotherapy, and he is now in the "maintenance" stage of his treatment.

I started getting mail from Supersibs a few weeks after we found out he had cancer. It was really nice to know that someone out there was thinking of me as a sibling to a child with cancer. As a Canadian citizen, it was also very honouring to know that there is an American organization that supports kids in my situation.

Honestly, it's an awful experience for everyone, and I remember a nurse at the hospital telling us once, that it "isn't just the child that gets cancer, the whole family gets cancer".

The last bit of mail I received from Supersibs was a pair of shoelace clips, which I now proudly wear on my riding boots. I just wanted to say, I think what you're doing is a really great thing. I can't tell you how good it feels to be recognized as a SIBLING in this kind of thing, and I hope that all other kids in my situation have the opportunity to become a part of Supersibs too. I suppose I sent this email just to Iet you know, I can't thank you enough for everything.

Ashlee

P.S. I attached a picture of my brother and I at christmas of last year, when his hair was just starting to grow back.