Childhood Cancer is a global health issue that I’m very passionate about. When you think about cancer, most people mainly think about adults getting cancer. Not many people talk or think about childhood cancer and children getting cancer. Only 4% of federal cancer research funding is allocated to childhood cancer. I didn’t think much about childhood cancer either until my younger brother was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in November of 2023 at the age of 15. Watching him go through his cancer journey really opened my eyes to how little the world truly focuses on childhood cancer and children diagnosed with cancer. There are huge cancer events held yearly across the world for adult cancers but there is not much talk about trying to improve funding, medicine, and other resources for children with cancer. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, there aren’t many chemotherapy treatments truly designed for children. My brother was given high dose medicines that are use for adults for his treatment. If more funds were allotted toward childhood cancer, then maybe we could truly find treatments that are meant for children. My brother underwent 20+ chemo treatments and an extensive surgery to remove the tumor from his right tibia. He was non weight bearing for three months and had to relearn how to walk and run all over again. I admire my little brother Skyler and the journey I watched him walk through with his cancer diagnosis over the past year in a half. Cancer is hard for anyone but especially for a child. No child should have to experience the pain or damage that comes along with a cancer diagnosis. I admire my brother because he never let the bad news get him down. He kept his faith through his entire journey and he knew that he was going to be ok. I admire the fact that he never shed a tear about his situation and continued to keep joy in his heart. Our family is very thankful for all the doctors and nurses we met who were part of our team in helping my brother through this difficult journey. He rung his bell in August of 2024 and is now in remission and cancer free. I hope someday the world will start to recognize and see that childhood cancer is just as important as adult cancer and that childhood cancer deserves more than the 4% it currently receives. My brother and other children diagnosed with cancer are worth more than four.

The goals I have for my future medical career are to help families see a light in what may be at the time, a dark place in their life dealing with whatever may have caused them to need medical assistance. When my younger brother was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, our family went through a dark period. During that time, we dealt with stress, sadness, anger, confusion, and so many more emotions that would have been hard to over come had we not had very supportive doctors and nurses who gave our family the hope we needed during my brothers cancer journey. Cancer can be a hard thing on a family but especially hard for a family going through it who’s loved one is only a teenager. My brother was 15 when us was diagnosed with cancer. Had it not been for the wonderful doctors and nurses he had throughout his journey, I don’t know how my family would have been able to handle his diagnosis the way that we did. During a life threatening event, you really have to put your trust into people you don’t know. You have to put trust into doctors and nurses who you have just met and you have to hope they will care just as much about your loved one as you do. We were lucky to have all the people on my brothers cancer team care about him just as much as we did. Seeing how they took care of my brother and my family during our hardest times, opened my eyes to want to be what they were to my family to someone else’s family. During my brothers year journey of hospital stays, his medical team became like family. Our relationship with them was more than just medical team and patient. It was because of the care and love they shown my brother that our family knew we’d make it through this tough journey and that we weren’t alone. We had a new found family caring for my brother and helping him to beat cancer. His medical team was the light our family needed during such a dark time in our lives. My goal to pursue the healthcare field is to be someone else’s light in a dark place. The healthcare field is limited when it comes to diversity. During my brother’s stay at the hospital, there were not many people we noticed that looked like us. Majority of his team were Caucasian. We are very grateful for his medical team but I do believe it is important to increase racial diversity so more people can feel a since of connection. More races need to be represented in the healthcare field so that younger generations will see that all jobs are possible for anyone and that people of all races are needed in every field of work.

In November of 2023, my younger brother who was 15 at the time was diagnosed with cancer. I remember getting the devastating news on November 2nd that he had Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer in his right tibia. I remember feeling all kinds of emotions but mainly scared that I was going to lose my little brother, my best friend. My brother and I are extremely close. He has been my best friend from day one so his diagnoses really hit me hard. Over the past year in a half, I’ve watched my younger brother fight this terrible disease with joy, a smile and determination. He under went months of chemo treatments which involved three intense chemotherapy drugs and spent weeks at a time in the hospital. He went through a limb salvage surgery where they had to remove three inches of his bone from his tibia, was non weight bearing for three months and had to relearn how to walk all over again. He is my hero and his fight has led me to want to fight for and help those going through similar situations. It is what has guided my career path to the health profession and medical field. I would like to be able to serve and help others in need like I watched so many doctors and nurses do for my brother. Without them and believe in Gods miracles, my brother my not be here today. Family is what matters most in my life and I want to be able to help other families going through tough times in the future. I admire my little brother Skyler and the journey I watched him walk through with his cancer diagnosis within this past year in a half. Cancer is hard for anyone but especially for a child. No child should have to experience the pain or damage that comes along with a cancer diagnosis. I admire my brother because he never let the words, “you have cancer” get him down. He kept his faith in God through his entire journey and he knew that he was going to be ok. I admire the fact that he never shed a tear about his situation and continued to keep joy in his heart. Our family is very grateful to all the doctors and nurses that were apart of his team. There are no words to express the amount of gratitude we owe them for what they did in caring for my brother. I would like to some day be what they were to my family, to someone else’s family. A light in a dark place.

My grandmother passed away from breast cancer when I was three years old and my younger brother, who is 15, was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, this past November. The loss of my grandmother had a huge impact on my life. Even being so young, I remember so much about her. Growing up, I remember spending a lot of time with my grandma. She was very special to me. She would always refer to me as “grandma’s baby” and that’s something that has stuck with me all these years. I remember her always being so joyful and always carrying a smile on her face even through dealing with the pains of cancer. That taught me to never let bad things or situations detect your outlook on life. She taught me a lot about determination and how family always comes first. I remember how important it was for my grandma to make all my uncles college basketball games while she was going through chemo. We would travel four hours away right after her receiving chemo treatments so she could make his games at Kansas State. My papa would have to pull over just so my grandma could throw up on our rides there. Family was very important to her and she wasn’t going to let her cancer diagnosis or how bad she was feeling keep her from being with her family. Witnessing seeing how important family was to her, effected me at a young age and made family be as important to me as it was to her. Losing her to cancer was tough on my whole family and cancer has continued to effect our life over the years. My great grandma and my great aunt, which are my grandmas mother and sister, we’re both diagnosed with breast cancer. They both were fortunate enough to beat cancer. Last year, I got some news I never imagined I’d get that made me want to fight for a change and that has started to guide my career path. In November of 2023, my younger brother who is 15 was diagnosed with cancer. I remember getting the devastating news on November 2nd that he had Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer in his right tibia. At that moment I felt scared I was going to lose my brother like I had my grandma. My brother and I are extremely close because like I stated earlier, the importance of family was instilled in me from my grandma years ago. My brother has been my best friend from day one so his diagnoses really hit me hard. I’ve watched my younger brother fight this disease similar to the way my grandma did with joy, a smile and determination. My grandma passed away 6 months before my brother was born and she never got a chance to meet him but I know she lives on in him because of the way I have seen him battle his cancer journey like she did hers. He has gone through months of chemo treatments spending weeks at a time in the hospital, a limb salvage surgery where they had to cut out part of his tibia bone, and having to relearn how to walk. He is my hero and his fight has led me to want to fight for and help those going through similar situations. It is what has guided my career path to the medical field so I will be able to serve others in need. Family is what matters most in my life and I want to be able to help other families in the future.