Janelle Moxley

In 2019, at the age of 30, Janelle was diagnosed with Stage 3 papillary renal cell carcinoma following a right radical nephrectomy. In 2020, the cancer recurred in her lymph nodes, advancing to Stage 4. After a little over two years on immunotherapy (Opdivo and Yervoy), she finished treatment in February 2023. Janelle is currently NED and on active surveillance. In December 2023, she welcomed her son, Benji. Janelle lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, son, and two cats (Dumpy and Ellie). She works in Supply Chain. She’s a proud elder emo who loves Disney, Halloween, musicals, and concerts. In her free time, she enjoys aerial yoga classes. Janelle is passionate about connecting with others in the AYA community and advocating for young adults with cancer.

Samantha Moreno-Ulibarri

Samantha I was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer called primary cutaneous gamma delta t-cell lymphoma in June of 2023. The only course of action for this diagnosis was intensive chemotherapy to prepare her for a bone marrow transplant which she underwent in December of 2023. Samatha is now about 21 months post transplant and doing well overall but with some intermittent hiccups along the way. The biggest hurdle she’s had work to overcome is what to do after all the “hard stuff.” No one prepares you for survivorship in the same way they do for treatment and once she was out of the acute treatment experience was when she really felt she was staring the real work of trying to re-identify herself after cancer, especially as a young adult. Samantha was extremely fortunate to have an excellent Young Adult Program within her own hospital that helped her find even more resources outside of them, including Cactus Cancer Society! She has found the YA community across the board to be extremely helpful in making her feel seen, supported, and like she has a place to truly and freely be herself after the cancer trauma and all! Her favorite thing about Cactus Cancer Society is that they not only create that environment but also incorporate crafting into that environment which is amazing for her because it’s hard for her to just sit still and talk always and she often need a little guidance in her crafting endeavors! Samantha is so happy to become part of this community through so many different avenues and groups that make up this incredible country wide YA community!

Suesan Cota

Suesan’s husband, Dil, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in June 2022. At the time, they had been dating for two and half years. Suesan became his full-time caregiver during his cancer treatment and bone marrow transplant. As a young adult caregiver, she has become passionate about accessibility to care, transparency, and support in the YA cancer community.

Cody Morrison

Cody Morrison was diagnosed with both Chronic NK Cell and Chronic T-Cell Large Granular Lymphocyte Leukemia in 2015 when he was 24, less than a year after graduating from Kean University with a B.A. in Special Education. Cancer derailed his teaching plans and after being on treatment for a little while, he created a list of all of the resources he had found so far during his cancer journey. That led to him asking every new person he met in the AYA community if they wanted his list of resources, which led to him stumbling into advocacy. That accidental advocacy ended up leading to him receiving Cactus Cancer Society’s inaugural Young Adult Cancer Advocate of the Year Award in 2025.

Cody runs a Facebook support group for LGL Leukemia patients, LGL Leukemia Support, and maintains a website with information for LGL Leukemia patients, LGLLSupport.com

Cody lives in New Jersey with his parents and sister. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV, reading books, genealogy, and helping people find the resources they need. He’s always on the hunt for more resources to add to his list.

Ashley Landi

Ashley Landi currently lives in New York and is a seven-year blood cancer survivor. Less than a week after moving to a different state approximately 600 miles away from home, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in October of 2018. She immediately started with the young adult version of the pediatric chemotherapy protocol and thankfully went into remission fairly quickly. In order to stay in remission, there needed to be further treatment, so she received an allogeneic stem cell transplant six months later, which came from two unrelated donors.
In 2020, while still recovering from the effects of the transplant and sheltering at home because of COVID, she sought support and came across Cactus Cancer Society, known at the time as Lacuna Loft. With the help of their programs, she began to feel less alone and was given tools to begin the healing process from the trauma that cancer has caused. Through the years, she has become passionate about young adult cancer advocacy and volunteers with multiple cancer organizations. In 2025, she was one of two recipients of the Young Adult Cancer Advocacy of the year Award given by Cactus Cancer Society.
She is working as a dental assistant and hopes to receive a master’s degree in social work, so that she can eventually become an oncology social worker. She would like to become a therapist for young adults who are personally affected by cancer. In her spare time, she loves to get together with friends, go hiking, and photograph beautiful scenery.

Xixi Reed

Xixi Reed is a salivary gland cancer survivor whose journey through diagnosis and treatment transformed her into a passionate patient advocate. With a long-standing commitment to non-profit work, Xixi has spent years supporting causes that uplift communities and promote health equity. Her recent experience with cancer deepened her understanding of the patient experience and inspired her to speak out, share her story, and help others navigate their own health challenges. Today, she combines her professional expertise in engineering and regulatory affairs with her personal mission to improve patient-centered care, amplify survivor voices, and support initiatives that drive meaningful change in healthcare.

Sarah Hurlbut

Diagnosed at the age of 33 in 2020, Sarah Hurlbut is a breast cancer survivor currently residing in western Massachusetts. While she has a day job as a municipal accountant, if able to, she would work full time on her small hobby farm she has with her husband and two children. An avid reader, she is a library trustee in her town and is always looking for a good book! Though work, kids, pets, and her property keep her rather busy, you can usually find her at night reading, watching true crime, or working on a puzzle. Other interests include baking, exercising, and participating in art workshops (usually with Cactus Cancer Society!). She’s always willing to try something new and while she is a bit of an introvert, dark humor, or talking about her animals will help bring her out of her shell.

Christopher Burge

Chris is a stage IV colorectal cancer patient and survivor. He is currently a graduate student in Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies at Maynooth University in Maynooth, Ireland. Prior to his move to Ireland, he worked as a middle and high school social studies teacher in Dallas, TX. He achieved a life-long dream in November 2024 when he appeared on Jeopardy! (he blames the loss partially on FOLFOXIRI). Aside from school and losing on television, he enjoys reading, travel, diving, and playing niche sports (currently Australian rules football and rounders).