Victoria is a very outgoing, energetic, happy teenager! Victoria is a very responsible, honest, self confident and caring young lady, who is well liked by her peers and also her teachers. Victoria LOVES to dance and perform on stage! Victoria was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma just before her 13th birthday (we actually met with her oncologist the day before her birthday). This diagnosis was certainly devastating to all of us. Never, ever did I believe that our family would be facing a child with cancer. The reality was, we were. We WILL get through this. One of the first toughest obstacles was to tell my 13 year old daughter that she would lose her hair. Her precious hair that she has been taking such good care of, and finally getting to a length where she liked it. When Victoria asked me 'the question", I began to cry. I told her "yes honey, you will lose your hair." Much to my surprise, her response was, "It's ok. It is only hair. It will grow back." Needless to say, I was in shock at this point! One priority for Victoria was for us to get her a wig. Which we certainly did. Well, she hardly wore it. It was itchy. She hated it. She would rip it off her head in the middle of a restaurant. She probably wore it 5 or 6 times. She was absolutely fine going to the mall - bald, having her pictures taken for the school yearbook - bald. There she was, this bald-headed girl with a huge smile on her face! Victoria's attitude and demeanor is what gave our family the strength we needed to face this horrific disease. We are so very proud of Victoria and ALL the Childhood Cancer Warriors!