BELLINGHAM, Mass. -- A local teen has made her battle with cancer a life lesson for her classmates.

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that it was, in part, rumors and cruel jokes about her wig that made Michele Columbus decide the students at Bellingham High School needed an education about the hard truth. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma more than a year ago.

"What I have on my head is not my own hair. It is a wig," she said.

Columbus put together a presentation to teach students about the disease. She brought in members of her family to teach about the impact it has had on them.

"'Don't be scared to ask me. I'm an open book. I'll answer anybody's question,'" Columbus recalled telling her class.

Her goal is to stop the hurt and gain allies through information.

"I just wanted everybody to get it through their head that there's nothing they can do. Just help me out," she said.

"It's awesome because I would have never known, like, what people go through," said senior Katie Sirignano.

"It's great that she's going out and showing her problem to everyone. That this is a big reality in the world," said freshman Eric Greene.

"(Cancer) has made me more confident in life I think because I know I'm going to be a survivor," Columbus said.

Aside from becoming an educator about cancer, Columbus, has taken on the task of fundraising. She hopes to raise funds for the Massachusetts General Hospital Clinic where she goes for treatment.