The term “cancer survivor” is not on the list of things that most people say would define them. I am not like most people. For me, cancer and the term “cancer survivor” is something that has been a defining characteristic of my life for as long as I can remember. I have known life more on the side of cancer than on the side of being free from cancer. And although cancer has its place of defining me, it does not hold me back. My journey with cancer began when I was diagnosed with Ependymoma, a cancerous brain tumor, at the age of three. This diagnosis changed the course of my life. I began to complain of headaches in the back of my head which progressed to me breaking down and screaming in the middle of restaurants because of the pain in my head. My parents, took me to see my pediatrician who suggested that I get an MRI right away. The MRI showed that I had a mass in the back of my head, a mass that turned out to be brain cancer. I underwent an initial round of chemotherapy and surgery that did not remove a significant amount of the tumor and would have left me severely physically impaired if any more had been removed. I was then transferred to another hospital where I underwent a twenty-four-hour surgery that removed the bulk of the tumor. Some residual tumor had to be left due to the amount of bleeding and its location against my brain stem. The surgery left me with severe hearing loss in my left ear. I was treated with chemotherapy which turned out to have no effect, so I also underwent radiation treatment. A year after my initial diagnosis and surgery, I had a recurrence and received surgery and chemotherapy. A year later, I had another recurrence in the same spot. My most recent recurrence was in the summer of 2018 in between my 6th and 7th grade year in middle school, where I had surgery and full brain and spine radiation. About a year after this radiation treatment, I experienced a late term side effect of sudden and severe hearing loss in my right ear. Due to this I now wear a hearing aid in my right ear. Reading my diagnosis on paper and history with Ependymoma, I should not be alive, yet here I am. Cancer has been a part of my life through every stage of my life. My journey with cancer has been long, hard, and frustrating, but it has also brought new opportunities and has shaped me into the person that I am today. I have formed lasting relationships with people I would otherwise not have met. My journey with cancer has made me realize that life is a gift and tomorrow is not promised. While I am still here, I want to make a difference and use my unique experiences to help others. My experiences have fostered my fascination with the brain and how it functions and influences our body. I want to pursue a degree in college that will allow me to use my experiences and fascination about the brain to help others who have battled cancer and make a difference in their lives. I want to live the life that I have been given to its fullest and use my experiences in life to encourage others to do the same. Cancer has made me realize that life is a gift that should not be taken for granted and we were created to live that life to its fullest.

Having severe hearing loss in both ears growing up has placed many obstacles in my life. When I was four, I was diagnosed with a malignant cancerous brain tumor called ependymoma. After the initial surgery to remove the tumor, I suffered severe hearing loss in my left ear, and many years later, in 2018, after surgery and radiation to remove a recurrent brain tumor, I suffered severe hearing loss in my right ear. Due to this, I wear a hearing aid in my right ear that allows me to hear at a normal level. Through my journey with hearing loss, I have had to adjust to artificial hearing through a hearing aid. This process was a hard one and it took me some time to get used to hearing sounds through a microphone inside my ear and having normal day to day conversations while wearing the hearing aid. Eventually though, I was able to adjust to this new type of hearing. Another obstacle that comes with hearing loss and wearing hearing aids is adjusting to new aids when the old ones need to be replaced. The process of adjusting to a different hearing device is also a difficult and unpleasant process that requires time and patience. Having to wear hearing aids as a teen in high school also comes with a lot of insecurities and questions from friends and teachers as to why I am wearing a hearing aid at this age. Overall, I have been able to overcome the obstacles I have faced with my hearing loss through support from my family, consistency in wearing my aids, persistence, patience, and prayer. My faith has also played a big part in helping through my journey with hearing loss. After I graduate, I plan to attend college and pursue at least a master's degree. I am not sure yet what field I want to study, but I am interested in psychology, biology, social work, and osteopathic medicine. I am also interested in behavior and how the brain and body work and how natural methods can work to heal the human body. I wish to attend a Christian college that will help me build my faith and use my experiences dealing with cancer and hearing loss to help others who have gone through the same struggles I have gone through. I hope that through my studies and higher education I will be able to pursue a career that will enable me to help others who are struggling with disabilities and who have had to face obstacles in their lives like I have. I wish to use the skills God gave me, as well as the experiences I have had, and the struggles I have faced to make a positive impact on others' lives

Having to overcome a cancerous brain tumor called ependymoma has greatly shaped me in to the person that I am today. I was diagnosed with ependymoma right before my fourth birthday. The journey that a brain cancer diagnosis took me on allowed me to grow in strength and form life-changing relationships. Leading up to my diagnosis, I had been complaining to my parents about headaches in the back of my head, so they took me to my pediatrician who told them to take me to a hospital right away because something was wrong. My parents took me to the Hershey Medical Center where the doctors discovered that I had a malignant brain tumor that was pressed against my brain stem. I had my surgery at the Hershey Medical Center and shortly after another surgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where most of the tumor was removed, however, some was unable to be removed due to its location against my brain stem. After my surgery, I suffered hearing loss in my left ear but had no other side effects. Since my original diagnosis, I've had five recurrences, the most recent being during the summer of 2018. I have undergone chemotherapy and proton therapy radiation to both my brain and spine which led to a late side effect of major hearing loss in my right ear. Due to this I now wear a hearing aid in my right ear. Overcoming a brain tumor has gotten me involved in the brain tumor community and the pediatric hospital care community. After my initial diagnosis, a woman who was also a brain tumor survivor who advocates for brain tumor research and pediatric cancer research reached out to my mom and helped to support my family and me as I was going through treatment and in the hospital for surgeries. Through her, I got involved with the National Brain Tumor Society which is an organization that advocates, fundraises, and raises awareness for research on and for curing brain tumors. The National Brain Tumor Society holds two annual 5ks to raise money and awareness for brain tumor research; one of these is in Philadelphia in the fall and the other is in Washington D.C in May. Each year, I have been involved in both races and have a team- Team Anya- for the Race for Hope in Philadelphia. I am also currently involved with an organization known as Caitlin's Smiles. This organization helps to supply boxes and kits of art supplies to kids who are staying in the hospital to help them cope and keep them entertained while in the hospital. I help to deliver boxes to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia when I have appointments. Being diagnosed with and overcoming brain cancer has also taught and exposed me to many things which have shaped me into the person that I am today. I have learned to be patient while sitting in waiting rooms waiting for an appointment to start or when I have to lay still in MRIs for multiple hours. I have learned to be brave when facing an IV placement or hearing the news that the tumor came back. Most importantly, I have learned that I want to help other kids who have faced the same things I have and are going through the same things I am. I want to pursue a college degree that will help me get a career where I can help children and other pediatric patients through whatever adversity they are facing.