Vanessa's Story

As the starting center of her high school's basketball team, Vanessa Raizberg entered her senior year poised to be the first young woman in school history to score more than 1000 points. Instead, she ended up accomplishing a much greater feat: beating cancer.

Lymphomas are a form of cancer involving the body's lymphatic system -- the network of glands and vessels that transport lymph, a clear fluid carrying infection-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes. There are two general types of lymphoma found in children, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Vanessa was diagnosed with pediatric Hodgkin's disease, which Dr. Tanya M. Trippett has spent her career trying to combat with new and more effective treatments.