Get After T-Cell ALL (GATA) for Zander!

Good morning. My name is Zach Lonas and I coach strength-and-conditioning and offensive line at Northgate High School.

With September being blood cancer awareness month, I wanted to share my son Zander’s story with you. Zander was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on April 1, 2024. Zander’s form of cancer results in the rapid production of abnormal white blood cells, which can compromise the body's ability to protect itself from infection and lead to other severe complications.

Zander’s type of leukemia is extremely rare, affecting only 450 children out of 75 million children in the U.S. each year. Because of its rarity, T-Cell ALL research is significantly behind B-Cell ALL. Zander spent four months at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta fighting his cancer relentlessly.

Zander ultimately passed away on Aug. 18, 2024, but his fighting spirit will live on forever! If you want to learn more about this horrible disease and how you can help, please click this link. Together we can GATA for Zander!