The Sigma Chi fraternity at New Mexico State University recently sent their annual donations to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
The donations had a special meaning this year, however, after one of their own was diagnosed with a recurrence of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Kyle Richardson was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when he was 16, at the height of the pandemic, according to a KRQE report. Richardson went through immunotherapy and was in remission until last spring.
“I found a lymph node [on] my neck at the base right here, and I had to have a scan done to find out if it was cancerous again, and I found out that I had relapsed, and I was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma again,” Richardson told KRQE.
The fraternity donates about $5,000 annually to support cancer research, but in Richardson’s honor, the fraternity raised more than $25,000.
“If you ask anybody about Kyle, they’ll tell you that he is the happiest person on this earth,” NMSU Sigma Chi Chapter President, Damian Anaya, told KRQE. “That dude always has a smile on his face. No matter what, he lets nothing, bring him down.”
Richardson shared a little about what battling cancer has been like.
“You know, whenever you’re young, you think you’re invincible, and having something like stage four Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is very treatable, but at the same time, it’s also very scary to be diagnosed with,” he said.
With the support of his friends and family, Richardson is ready to beat cancer again and get back to pursuing a degree in computer science.
“It might be hard for a season, and that season might be long,” Richardson said. “It might be a year of rough times, but at the end of the day, life always gets better.”
The members at Sigma Chi have set a goal of raising $50,000 next year with the help of business donations and partnerships.
“We just want to incorporate Kyle as much as possible, make sure he gets to health as soon as possible,” Anaya said. “So, he can come and join us in the fall, because we all miss him, and we love him.”
