The week they found my tumor, my future changed. I was only four, but I remember experiencing an itching and sometimes even painful feeling in my back. I could not sleep much that week. My parents took me to multiple doctors and even to the emergency room, yet I received no proper diagnosis. That Saturday, my legs stopped working. An MRI showed the tumor on my spine.
I went straight into surgery that night. The surgeons removed most, but not all of the tumor, along with four of my vertebrae. After surgery, my family was told it was Ewing sarcoma and that the cancer had metastasized. This led to many months of chemotherapy, 28 rounds of proton beam radiation, a feeding tube, blood transfusions, and I spent time relearning how to walk. It was a tough battle, but friends and family gave me the strength to fight it.
After all the treatments and a few years of follow-up scans, I was deemed cancer-free – officially diagnosed as “no evidence of disease.” But while there is “no evidence of disease,” there is plenty of evidence that I fought cancer.
The surgery and treatments that saved my life also gave me lifelong obstacles. Not only do I have regular checkups with my oncologist, but due to the chemotherapies I was treated with, I require regular checkups with a cardiologist and endocrinologist, among others. My spine and growth were also affected by the removal of vertebrae and the many rounds of radiation. I ultimately developed severe scoliosis as the years went on.
Most kids get to have fun during summer break, but my last summer before the pandemic, began with surgery to try to straighten my spine, at least as much as medically possible. The surgery involved metal implants and spinal fusion. I spent the remainder of my summer vacation recovering and rehabbing, but I kept pushing myself until I was able to do everything I normally did.
Like most everyone else, I spent my next year or so disconnected from the world during the pandemic, but I had my family alongside me, so it was never too bad. Just as schools were getting ready for the first in-person classes in over a year and I was preparing to start high school, I developed something on my spine.
Upon visibly noticing the mass, my parents immediately took me to the hospital. It turned out to be an infection caused by the metal attached to my spine and required another lengthy surgery. After eight days in the hospital, I only ended up missing my first week of high school.
Even though I began high school during my recovery, I was not going to let any obstacle get in my way. I powered through. Despite everything I went through, I persevered. I stayed strong, kept my grades high, and even earned a spot on the varsity tennis team.
Cancer does not define me. However, my experiences influence me and have helped me grow. For the past 11 years, in my attempt to give back to the world, I volunteer with St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a charity that raises money for childhood cancer research. At each event, I shave my head and raise awareness of the need for more and better treatments. So far, I have helped raise over half a million dollars. I even became a 2024 St. Baldrick’s Ambassador, giving proof that kids can live a life beyond a cancer diagnosis.
My dream is to work in the medical field. I need to help children live a long life, to have a fun, normal childhood, and not worry about their sickness. Every two minutes, a child in the world is diagnosed with cancer. Every two minutes a family cries when given the diagnosis. Every two minutes another child’s future has changed. Every two minutes I am given more reminders of what I am working towards.
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