What I Have Overcome

What I Have Overcome

Lewis

I had just started my sophomore year of high school. I was 16 years old, and I was feeling great. I had just finished my first year of varsity football, and I was making the transition to basketball season. I just worked on my shooting, ran to stay in shape, and focused on some passing and ball handling. I was not the fastest and I had awful stamina, but I hustled and worked my butt off, which is why I made the team. Practice was difficult for me: 7 days a week, 1 1/2 hours a day, running for about a half-hour straight.

On a Monday following a brutal scrimmage, in which we would have been beat by 100, I felt sick to my stomach. I went home during school, along with the two days after that. I went to the doctor the third day, and they said I had symptoms of a brain tumor. I went to have an MRI done, and it showed tumor markers. I had a germinoma tumor that was malignant. I met with a pediatric oncologist, and she assured me that everything would be fine. She said the kind of tumor has a high cure rate, and it likely wouldn’t come back after treatment. I ended up having 6 cycles of chemo (3 days on, 3 weeks rest, total of 18 treatments) and 5 weeks of radiation therapy (about 30min/day for 5days/wk for 5 weeks). This all started the first week of December, and treatment ended mid April-early May. I finished the school year fine, passed most of my regents exams (except a2/trig), and on july 30th, 2013, I got the call with my MRI results showing no signs of a tumor.

What really got me through this experience was the support I had from my family, friends, classmates, teachers, coaches, and others within my school and hometown communities. When I received all these letters and cards and gifts from everyone, I really appreciated their support and I was happy and confident that I could make it through. It is because of this experience that I am more grateful for everyone in my life, and cherishing every moment as it comes.

Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.