Freda Kassis

I am a mother of a beautiful young child, and a wife to a hardworking husband. I was born and raised in the beautiful City of Toronto. I come from a loving close family. I have a younger brother and a younger sister, both of whom I adore.

Over twenty years ago, I landed a career as a Law Clerk while I was completing my last course of the Law Clerk Program at Seneca College. I met so many interesting people and lawyers along the way of my career and was blessed to have worked for some awesome lighthearted lawyers, too! I made the choice to end my career as a Law Clerk after serving many years when I realized I had the potential to start up a Reiki practice. And I will tell you why!

Fast forward 17 years into my career, I gave birth to my daughter in early 2019. During my 8th month of pregnancy, I noticed a small lump under my left arm. I had mentioned this to my doctor several times and was told it was “backed up milk.” In a span of 5 months post-delivery, I fell ill with fevers. The lump kept growing and I also dropped a significant amount of weight. This is when I had to take my health into my own hands and seek urgent care. I was admitted to Sunnybrook Hospital wherein I had done a biopsy and numerous scans. It was then determined I had a type of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma called Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. I took the time to educate myself on my health, made drastic lifestyle changes and committed myself to self-healing through healthy eating, meditation and reiki. I quickly underwent chemotherapy for several months following the diagnosis and successfully went into remission in January 2020. I am truly thankful and blessed to have had so much support from my family and friends.

What I did not know back then was that LLSC existed. I recall a family member reaching out to me in the Fall of 2019 asking for a donation for a colleague's fundraiser with the LLSC. I learned about the organization and quickly connected with someone for more information. I not only did not hesitate to donate, but promised myself that I would join as a team member with LLSC the following year and each year afterwards in order to help others and bring awareness to the blood cancer community! This is now my 5th year with LLSC!

The amount of support that the LLSC has provided to me, let alone the blood cancer community, is unimaginable. I am here to help those who are in need and do what I can to assist, but most importantly, to bring much awareness that is needed. We are all connected and helping one person may help another 10 down the road.

I am blessed to have been chosen as an Honoured Hero and am hopeful that I can bring in a positive impact to those in need.