Cancer and College

As I prepare to move up to Logan for school (two days!!), I've been thinking a lot about my life here in Cedar City, and therefore the experiences I've been through. I've also been thinking about how it will feel to get back into school and classes again. I found an essay I wrote a few months ago, and it helped me realize one thing that cancer has given me: perspective in everything. Good luck with school!!

I knew at a young age that I wanted to pursue a career in which I could help people. That was solidified at age 15, when I was diagnosed with cancer in my salivary glands. The five-and-a-half year journey that included numerous surgeries, relapses, radiation, and chemotherapy have both helped and hindered my college pursuit in ways that I wouldn’t have imagined. 

My college experience began in my home town of Cedar City, Utah at Southern Utah University in the fall of 2012. I stood six months clear from a relapse, in which I had a surgery to removed cancer-infected tissue from my neck. Toward the end of the semester, however, I was faced with yet another relapse, this time requiring a major 13-hour surgery which would take place the day after my last final. Because of the immensity of this surgery, I made the choice to un-register for the upcoming spring semester, so that I could recover and focus on my health. It put me behind a semester, and I wish I could have kept going with my schooling. 

On the other hand, I have been blessed in regards to my higher education because of cancer. Months after my major surgery, I sat at a crossroads. I wasn’t necessarily happy with my chosen major. My education was at a point where I didn’t have many general education requirements left and needed to pursue a major. I combed through the list of majors that SUU offered, but nothing jumped out at me. It wasn’t until I looked at the results of my personality test that I immediately found my answer- Speech pathology. I wouldn’t have recognized that career had I not received speech therapy from my major surgery months before. If I hadn’t gone through cancer, I probably wouldn’t have gone toward the career I am pursuing today. 

The biggest impact of cancer is that I am a better college student. I have full confidence that I can push through hard classes and tough teachers, assignments, or study groups- all with phenomenal grades. Why? Because I’ve made it through harder times. I know that I can succeed at anything in life because I have already succeeded in something bigger than myself- taking back my life from cancer.

 Keep running.