Young Atlanta warriors battling cancer, sickle cell star in new photo series

ATLANTA — A group of young warriors fighting cancer and sickle cell anemia are the stars of a new photo series to shed light on their courage.

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta created the series, "In Their Own Words," to let these brave patients share their stories.

The patients, ranging in age from 4 to 15, picked one word they use to define themselves. They pose with powerful flags -- gold representing cancer, burgundy representing sickle cell.

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Click through their inspiring photos and read their stories below:

Caroline:  "Hope is the expectation and desire for something to happen. Hope is trust. We expect and desire for Caroline to beat cancer and we trust that Aflac Cancer Center is the best place, leading our way through the storm of cancer...and bringing us so much hope." – Jamie, Caroline's mom

Emmy: "Her first admission was at only five weeks old. I will never forget seeing her tiny little body as our amazing nurses tried to find a usable vein. Emmy blows us away with her desire to choose joy and bravery in the midst of pain that could take down grown men. She is the epitome of brave." – Courtney, Emmy's mom

Lana: "Cancer did not get the best of me. Throughout the journey, I learned how it empowered and strengthened not only me, but so many other people in my life. It was a chain reaction that inspired others to push through difficult times, set goals and appreciate the small things." – Lana

Luke: "Fear is a liar! It steals your joy and happiness. Throughout my journey, I was never afraid of cancer. I put my faith in God and my trust in my Aflac family to administer a treatment plan that suited my needs. On day one, I decided fear was not an option." – Luke]

DaJean: "Even though he deals with pain in his everyday life, DaJean manages to remain hopeful. He pushes through every pain crisis like a champ and doesn't let his illness stop him from living the best life he can live. He still goes outside to play basketball, swim and hang out with his friends. He maintains his heart of gold by always being thoughtful of everyone around him. DaJean is living strength." –Ebony, DaJean's mom

To learn more or to donate, please visit www.choa.org/jointhefight.

Cox Media Group