I rang the bell on October 26, 2018. Although all I had to do was move my arm, it stood for so much more. It was the first time I was officially cancer free, the culmination of years of seizures, a brain surgery, and proton radiation treatment. My brain tumor story began in the summer going into fourth grade, yet it would take three years before doctors were able to find the cause of my seizures, a grade three Anaplastic Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma. That golf ball sized tumor in my temporal lobe is what caused me to have approximately three seizures a day. Throughout sixth grade, I remember how sleepy I was due to the medication I was taking. I would leave for school just to come right back home after falling asleep in my first class. Nevertheless, I was determined to not let cancer have an impact on my life so even when it was hard to stay awake, I worked harder to achieve all A’s. It was tough to continue playing my two sports while having seizures on the court, but I was tougher. Doctors were able to successfully remove my tumor, but pathology revealed that it was more aggressive than previously thought. This meant that I had to leave school early every day in seventh grade for radiation treatment, presenting another set of academic and personal challenges. As a result of these challenges that I faced, I push myself to work extra hard and challenge myself with difficult courses, because I can remember how hard it was to simply attend school. In my eyes, I have no excuse because if I can manage to get all A’s while battling cancer, I have no limit to my education. It is my devotion towards education and the exposure I’ve had to neurology that makes me certain I will one day be on the other end of the scalpel helping other fighters like me.
The adversity I faced while battling brain cancer has led me to organize a 5K in my community every year as an advocate and fundraiser for the ABTA (American Brain Tumor Association). I’ve raised a total of over $28,000 for the ABTA in the past four years. I planned and managed all aspects of hosting the annual event for over 70 people, executed the logistics on race day, and participated in the race by running (or rollerblading) the course every year. I continue to support survivors and their families through my work as a volunteer and mentor with the Cancer Hope Network by offering a safe, empathetic space for mentees to discuss their fears, struggles, and triumphs throughout their cancer journey.
My ability to create bonds with people, no matter the situation, is something that I know I will carry with me throughout my life and is something that will open up many doors. I have already had multiple opportunities to shadow my neurosurgeon and the experience has left me certain that I will work in the OR one day.
Looking back on my battle against cancer, there were times when it took thirty minutes to swallow my medication, when I was in pain after surgery, when plastic melted onto my face during radiation treatment, when I wanted to quit. But when I see myself, I see a lucky kid. I believe our perspective can control our luck, despite the fact that luck is seen as something uncontrollable. I hope to spread that luck to many others, especially children struggling as I once did, so that they can live a life as full as mine.
At eight years old, I was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called craniopharyngioma, terrifying me and my family and forever changing my life. Post-surgery, I now take several medications and daily injections, and I started a healthy meal plan. While my health maintenance regime has challenged me, it's helped me develop responsibility and perseverance.
Have you ever met someone who takes who takes nine shots per week, and a dozen pills daily? Due to my medical issues, I've had to develop a sense of responsibility, as I gain independence from my support system. After my neurosurgery, my parents did everything for me; they set alarms to administer pills and tracked my diet. We had to journal everything I consumed! Once I entered middle school, however, I took more accountability for my health. I’ll never forget the time I was dropped off at my favorite gaming hub. As I entered, I turned to see my ride leaving with my medicine and water bottle! I felt panic and disappointment at once. Although my gaming experience was shortened, I learned how fragile my mobility is in life.
Developing my autonomy, especially at a very young age, has helped me learn to balance health with academics and extracurriculars. I've applied the planning and time management skills I've dedicated to managing my health to the rest of my life. I'm glad I learned how to take charge of my well-being and self-advocate, so I can pursue things I enjoy. For example, building a business from scratch or attaining a Computer Science bachelor's degree away from home.
Living with multiple chronic conditions due to the tumor has also instilled in me an unwavering sense of perseverance, driving my pursuit of academic excellence and commitment to business success. Soon after the surgery, I suffered short-term memory loss for over three years. During that time, I realized I couldn’t do everything myself and learned how to advocate more by seeking help from tutors, and figuring out what I can do better with support from teachers. These resources benefit me with all that I do such as taking AP and Dual-Enrollment courses, running the school store’s website team, managing my business, and managing my after-school clubs.
My condition inspired me to create Dareshift LLC in an effort to open up the world of gaming to others who are disabled or struggle with different conditions by assessing and resolving common barriers, by programming, launching, and actualizing solutions. Through Dareshift, I code and sell different types of combat and strategy-based games for teens. Over the years, I have achieved a large user base, published a plethora of games, and created blogs for my audience. Despite the obstacles my condition presents, I am determined to reach my business goals of creating fun computer games that are both accessible and inclusive. My goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their experience, background, or obstacles, can enjoy these gaming experiences and live on their own terms.
My medical condition has helped me develop personally and academically, and I've worked hard so I can live a full life. Though my condition has made my life more difficult in many ways, I will always focus on how it's helped me grow into a more accountable, conscientious, level-headed, determined individual. As I embark on my college career, the independence I've developed will help me achieve my goals in computer science and scale Dareshift. By blending my academic endeavors with my entrepreneurial vision, I aspire to drive innovation, lead impactful initiatives, and mentor peers, while I make a lasting impact on my college community and beyond.
By using my experience as a primary brain and secondary spine cancer survivor current patient, and epileptic as a result of it, I will be able to better understand what hospitalized children require. I will use these experiences to help them as a CCLS inside a hospital. Having this experience I also know how to explain all the medical procedures that come with being a cancer patient, like MRIs, CT scans, EEGs, chemotherapy, port access for treatment, and surgery. My experience with these things will allow me to explain what happens during these procedures, as I have experienced them all. As well as witnessed them through my friend's brain cancer journey and cousin's bone and lung cancer journeys. I didn't recieve radiation treatment, but the two of them did. I will be able to use their experiences to show children what happens with their body through the side effects they experienced with chemotherapy and radiation vs. my experience with just chemotherapy. A good example of those would be the hair loss, mine only thinned out, but they both lost theirs.
I have spent 22 years being a cancer patient, and I want to take this experience to help hospitalized children. The craniotomies caused so much scar tissue, that it was pressing down on the temporal lobe and inducing hundreds of seizures a day. Now that it has been fixed, this experience will allow me to help those children who might go through the same experience. It allows me to explain what an EEG is, and how you should be careful so you don't pull the leads off because of the reaction to the glue.
As I got my Associate's degree in child development, I worked with preschoolers while my tumor was stable for 10 years after finishing the last round of chemotherapy. After COVID we found out that the tumor wasn't benign anymore, when the pressure of a cyst caused a seizure. The MRI showed that, that cyst was growth of the tumor, and it was now malignant. The followed biopsy showed that it went from a Grade II PXA to a Grade III APXA. This made me want to go back to school for my Bachelor's degree, and work towards getting a CCLS certification to help those hospitalized patients understand what is going on.
By using all of my experience as a childhood cancer survivor and current cancer patient, I will be able to help hospitalized patients through my own experience in the hospital setting. This will allow me to help those children and their families get through the stressful experience that comes along with being a cancer patient, and how they can navigate their lives in and out of the hospital at the same time.
