In 2025, it is predicted that more than 70,000 cases of leukemia will be diagnosed. However, there is little public awareness and knowledge about the disease and its effects. Leukemia is a type of cancer found in the bone marrow and lymphatic system which causes rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that do not function. Sophomore Rishik Devana and his Healthcare Occupations Students of America (HOSA) team have begun a Leukemia Awareness Campaign for HOSA’s Community Awareness Competition. With a goal to educate the public about the risk factors and symptoms to promote early detection of leukemia, the team has worked hard over the course of seven months to create a national Leukemia Awareness Week.
The team began with interviewing nurse practitioner Tanya Lalani from Northside Hospital to gain insight on detecting and preventing leukemia. From there, they developed presentations and flyers to help educate students at local middle schools, including Riverwatch Middle School and Lakeside Middle School. Later in November, they started advertising on social media, garnering over 17,000 views and support from all over the world. Following these events, they contacted the governors of 13 states in the US and the mayor of Toronto, Canada to create a Leukemia Awareness Week.
“So in Georgia, Leukemia Awareness Week was just established for December 15th through 21st, and it was also approved in Louisiana and North Carolina…overall, this impacts 15,778,618 people,” Devana expressed. This work will allow for their impact to be national and provide recognition to leukemia.
In addition to raising awareness, the team also has a GoFundMe to collect donations for leukemia patients in Pune, India.
“We are currently sponsoring the treatment of an eight-year-old boy named Sakib who can greatly benefit from our financial aid,” Devana said.
They are also interviewing leukemia survivors to write an article about their experience, and are currently designing a children’s book about a little girl with leukemia and her journey. They hope all of these projects will bring more awareness to reduce cases of leukemia.
Devana and his team have shown extreme dedication and determination in this project, taking time outside of a busy school schedule and extracurricular activities to help their community. They show the impact clubs like HOSA can have on students, their communities, and the world.
