“You can be a victim of cancer, or a survivor of cancer. It's a mindset” Dave Pelzer
Imagine a hospital. A patient lying in bed with a monitor beside them, surrounded by the stark white of medical uniforms and the concerned faces of family members, underlying pain on your face as well as IVs and tubes sticking into your body. This is a reflection of the reality faced by many cancer patients—a medical experience that affects both children and adults. With its various forms, cancer brings physical pain and emotional struggles that ripple through patients and their loved ones.
Nikos Theoharis, son of history teacher Pete Theoharis, has had the experience of having cancer, Leukemia specifically. At the time Nikos was diagnosed, he was three years old and went through ongoing treatments for three years and two months until finally, he was cured of Leukemia and is currently 23 years old today. During his time in treatment, Nikos couldn’t go to kindergarten and preschool off and on causing him to miss days of education. This is because his white blood cell counts were often low. In total, Nikos had two blood transfusions, 30 spinal taps, and daily chemotherapy, and took medicated steroids often for three years.
“You truly value every little thing once you’ve gone through that [dealing with cancer], and little things that once bothered you are, I don’t wanna say inconsequential, but you take them as just a small hiccup in life,” HHS history teacher and father Pete Theoharis states.
Cancer is commonly regarded with concern, not only for its many forms but also for the pain that often comes with it. Pain and discomfort are some of the most common symptoms during treatment. While the intensity and type of pain differ from person to person, it is a constant reminder of the battle being fought inside them. Beyond physical discomfort, it can be mentally draining due to being up late at night, and not being able to sleep from anxiety, with effects that may linger even after treatment ends according to the University System For Health.
“I think cancer is painful and difficult because of the uncertainty of what the outcome is. There are treatments available, whether it’s surgical intervention or chemotherapy. Things like that can help, but it’s always uncertain,” Madjil Clark, the HHS school nurse, said.
Alexis Longshore, often referred to as Lexi is a current cancer patient with rhabdomyoma sarcoma which is a muscle cancer despite being mistaken as a skin cancer. Lexi has a lot of restrictions due to all of the chemotherapy she’s experiencing, a few of these things being, she isn’t allowed to be engulfed in water so no baths, no swimming, no pools. Another restriction Lexi has is that she is anemic, so she has very low iron and needs to eat lots of meat to keep up. Lastly, Alexis Longshore is a very busy person, she often gets bombarded with calls and texts daily which makes it hard to get a hold of her.
“I don’t see tons of people from school that much, so I don’t talk to that many people. I’m hard to get a hold of,” Alexis Longshore, a teen cancer patient states.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a gift to those with cancer, not specifically those with terminal illnesses such as Cancer and Heart disease but more for children above the age of 3 and teens who have yet to reach their 18th birthday who are sick, and grants them a wish they will make come true. Make-A-Wish foundations get their funding through corporate donations and volunteer services so that patients can experience the things they never got to see before.
“I’m going to go to Florida with my family and we are going to visit Disney World for a few days and then go to the beach together,” Alexis Longshore enthusiastically states.
