Girl with terminal cancer celebrates early graduation, prom

ORANGE COUNTY - A Chino Hills teenager with leukemia is making the most of her time left to inspire others.

Addison Conely will have graduated high school, gone to prom, and gotten married all in the course of one week.

The 17-year-old was told in mid-March that her cancer had returned 72 days after a bone marrow transplant/transfusion surgery.

She was first diagnosed in June of 2021.

"I didn’t think that it was real," said Addison. "A couple months later, then it kind of hit me that this is actually real life."

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Addison has been receiving treatments while also finishing high school.

"When Addy was diagnosed for the second time with cancer — we were told her time was short," said Staci Conely, her mother.

"It’s our job to do everything that she wanted to do on her bucket list," added Conely.

The Chino Valley community held a special cap and gown ceremony for a high school senior earlier this week.

The commencement was held three months ahead of Chino Valley High’s regular ceremony.

On Saturday, she and a group of her friends had an early prom at Newport Beach.

"It means a lot," Addison said. "All my friends are great whenever I need them."

She and her longtime friend Sebastian Snitily started dating in May of 2021 — just two weeks before she found out about the cancer.

"It’s been hard," said Snitily. "But days like today are special."

Addison and Sebastian will be married on Wednesday March 30th.

She and her family are starting a foundation that donates colorful blankets to cancer patients in hospitals.

Gold Rush Cure Foundation helped organize the prom.

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