At the age of 20 months, after months of my parents searching for the reason for my various health issues, I was diagnosed with cancer in my spine and brain. Next up was a spinal resection surgery, six rounds of a hardcore chemotherapy regimen, and three stem cell rescues. After all of that, my parents were told that my cancer was continuing to grow. Luckily, we tried two oral chemotherapy drugs that kept me stable for many years.

I was different than all the kids I went to school with. I went to the nurse’s office at least once a day, had special accommodations, and the biggest difference was that I had cancer. How in the world would I be able to go to college? There were 3 major steps in my mental checklist that I went through when the time came to thinking about what was after high school:

Step 1: Accept the fact that you are different. In fact, embrace it.

Step 2: Find a school that would accommodate my housing requests.

Step 3: Visit and apply!

Then the only thing left to do was wait. Fast forward to August 22, 2024. The day I couldn’t wait for. Move-in day!! I was starting my college journey at Kutztown University. I am living my best life at college, and not letting the fact that I have special accommodations get in the way of that. So, the answer to my question is believing in myself. 

I would like to say thank you to PCFLV for everything that they have given me. I had the pleasure of being a part of the Teen Board serving as Vice-President and President. Not only was this a great opportunity for me to give back to a wonderful organization, but it allowed me to gain many valuable skills. In May of this year, I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship from the foundation that has helped me to pay for my college education and continue onto my goal of becoming a teacher.

My advice to anyone going through anything like what I have gone through would be to not give up, there is always a way to get through!

Written by Vanessa

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip