Honored Kid

Matthew Hall

Age 24
Matthew Hall Kid Photo

Location

Clark, NJ, US

Diagnosis

Burkitt's Leukemia

Date of Diagnosis

October 2016

Status

No evidence of disease

Treated At

Goryeb Children's Hospital

Change your kid's logo

My Story

My name is Matthew Hall. In October 2016, I just started my junior year at Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen, NJ, and was in the middle of Cross-Country track season. I started having back pain, but thought it was just a pulled muscle from running 35-40 miles per week. Within a week, my life changed forever - my family's lives were changed forever. The doctors found cancer in my back and my hip. I was diagnosed with Burkitt's Leukemia. I received my treatment at the Valerie Center at Morristown Medical Center. The doctors, nurses, social workers and other members of the staff have become part of our family. I don't feel like I'm just another patient at the hospital to the doctors and nurses. I know they really care that I get better. It's not just a job to them. To also see the social workers and other staff help my parents and me to ensure that I can keep up with my schoolwork so I can graduate on time (the Valerie Fund provided the hospital with a VGo robot at my school so I could participate in class remotely), that I have activities each day (like the therapy dogs - I love Tahoe!), and even the tacos, ice cream and other goodies each day. They made every day less difficult. That meant so much to me.

Five months have passed and on St Patrick's Day 2017, my treatment was done! The worst is hopefully behind me.  This year, when I'm eligible, I will be volunteering at the hospital to help other patients and share my experiences with them. Hopefully, I can make it less difficult for someone else.

The Childhood Cancer Ripple Effect

Help Give Kids a Lifetime

Infants, children, teens and young adults are depending on us to find cures for childhood cancers — and to give survivors long and healthy lives.

Support lifesaving childhood cancer research today.

Photo submission policy

Please read the photo submission policy and accept below.

By submitting a photograph of yourself on www.StBaldricks.org, you agree to the following terms and conditions for submission of your photograph:

We strongly encourage all users to submit a before and after photo, so that donors and fellow participants can easily recognize and relate to one another.

Any photo containing cartoons, comics, celebrities, nudity, pornography, sexually explicit images or any copyrighted image (unless you own the copyright) is not permitted. This is because photos of celebrities and cartoon or comic images are generally copyrighted by the owner.

Uploading images of other people without their permission is also prohibited.

This photo submission policy applies to StBaldricks.org users. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation reserves the right to review all photos and to remove any photo for any reason at our sole discretion. If you see a photo on StBaldricks.org that you believe does not conform to this policy, email to WebQuestions@StBaldricks.org