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ACS Dear Donor

Dear Donor,
I would like to personally thank you for your generous donation to the American Cancer Society. As a student at University of California Santa Barbara, your contribution has helped me in many ways. Your donation has allowed me to put more focus into the issues that affect my daily life, such as chemo and school, without having to constantly worry about how im going to pay for it all.
As of several days ago, I celebrated my two year anniversary of being diagnosed with brain cancer. We discovered the tumor after a weekend of terrible headaches and one fateful CAT-SCAN. I had a craniotomy to have the tumor removed the day after my 17th birthday. Since then, I have undergone three different chemotherapies, radiation therapy, and radio (gamma knife) surgery. At first my tumor spread to the side of my brain, and I actually had a scan a month ago where both tumors decreased in size. As of my last MRI scan, both of them appear to be stable.
At UCSB, I am a freshman English major, but I am pretty confident that I am going to change me major to something like political science or philosophy. Right now I am taking courses in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Art History. However, my main interest is music. Unfortunately, I wont be able to enter into a music major program because they no longer offer a guitar emphasis, which I would prefer. I’ve been playing guitar for 3 years now and I love to write songs and improvise. I listen to an expansive collection of music from jazz, to folk, to rock, to hip-hop. My dream is to become an accomplished guitar player, for my own sake, not to be famous or rich, but just to develop my abilities to the fullest so that I may enjoy my life through my guitar and music. Your donation has allowed me to strive for my goals of living life to the fullest and using education as a means of evolving and progressing myself as an individual.
Once again I would wish you to know how much your donation has meant to my life personally, and all the other students like me who benefit from the American Cancer Society.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much for your kindness, generosity, and compassion. It will not be forgotten.
Truly,

Daniel J Riley

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