Melissa’s Living Legacy Teen Cancer Foundation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping teens live with cancer  With our medically accurate, innovative, and totally teen-oriented resources, teens with cancer learn about their disease and treatment, discover effective coping strategies, and connect with other teens on the same ride.  If you are a teen with cancer or know a teen living with cancer and want to help, you’re in the right place!

Mission and Vision

Melissa’s Living Legacy seeks to improve the quality of life for all impacted by adolescent cancer – teens with cancer, their families, friends, and health care providers.  Our vision is that all teens with cancer have opportunities for life-affirming experiences throughout each stage of their disease.

History

The organization honors the inspiring life of Melissa Marie Sengbusch who was 19 years old when she died of acute myeloid leukemia on June 22, 2000.  Just days before her death, Melissa asked her mother to promise that she would use what she had learned from her daughter’s cancer experiences “to make a difference – to make things better.”  As one way to keep her promise, Melissa’s mom, our Executive Director, Lauren Spiker, established Melissa’s Living Legacy to help other teens live their dreams – despite a cancer diagnosis.

Melissa’s Living Legacy was founded on the lessons Melissa left behind.  She taught her mom that the human spirit, when unleashed, can conquer all fear.  By all she accomplished, she demonstrated the power of self-awareness and focused energy.  Melissa proved that inner strength can survive- and thrive- despite the physical ravages of cancer.  Hers was a life so well lived, so full and rich in purpose that her memory continues to inspire all who hear her story.  As her youngest brother said at his high school graduation, “My sister’s life wasn’t taken away from her.  It was merely shorter than the rest of ours.”

Today, thanks to Melissa’s legacy and the support of many who are helping us honor Melissa’s last request, teens with cancer around the globe are becoming empowered self-advocates with lots of living to do – even with cancer!

Strategic Initiatives

The work of Melissa’s Living Legacy Teen Cancer foundation is focused in three broad areas:

• Providing relevant resources to teens with cancer that enhance their quality of life.
• Seeking opportunities to improve the delivery of services to teens and young adults with cancer.
• Advocating for teens with cancer to heighten awareness and motivate action.

Learn more about the services and programs of Melissa's Living Legacy