Published May 15, 2024

The Youngest American to Orbit Earth and First Pediatric Cancer Survivor in Space, Hayley Arceneaux, Now 32, Helped Raise $250 Million for St. Jude — The Hospital That Saved Her Life

Details

Hayley Arceneaux's Inspirational Story & Journey to Space

Bone cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux was on the first-ever all-civilian space flight launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in 2021. She hopes her story will inspire patients at St. Jude, the hospital that saved her life as a child.
Arceneaux was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, when she was just 10 years-old. Her dad advocated for her to be treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. To treat her bone cancer, Arceneaux had chemotherapy, and surgery to remove her knee and thigh bone.
Sarcomas are cancers that arise from the cells that hold the body together. They can occur in muscles, nerves, bones, fat, tendons, cartilage or other forms of connective tissues.
The word sarcoma refers to a large array of bone and soft tissue cancers, and individual cancers within that set go by unique names.

In 2021, bone cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux was chosen among a handful of people be launched into space from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in the first-ever all-civilian space flight. Now, at 32, the inspirational physician assistant remains grateful for all that she’s been through and hopes to spread her message that anything possible.

Arceneaux is a childhood cancer survivor — and helped raise $250 million for St. Jude to help others going through similar hardships.

Arceneaux, who was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma in her left leg at age 10, was treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with chemotherapy and surgery to put a titanium rod in her thigh and replace her knee. She’s thriving 22 years later, and devoted to giving back to the hospital that helped save her life.

She captioned a recent Instagram post, featuring clips of her defying gravity in space and recounting when she was in orbit for three days, “So so grateful for my journey, where it’s taken me, and how much good has come out of it.

‘I’ll never stop fighting for these kids.”

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Hayley Arceneaux (@hayleyarc)

In the video clip, Arceneaux wrote, “I never could have imaged when going through cancer treatment that I would go to space to raise money for the hospital that saved my life.

“In September 2021, I spend three days in orbit. Our Inspiration4 mission raised $250million for St. Jude Children’s Hospital research. 10-year-old me would be so proud.”

Her story has certainly helped others remain hopeful as times get tough, as one of her followers commented, “You’re incredible. The most uplifting story imaginable.”

Another commented on her Instagram post, “You are amazing! Your story never fails to make me smile!”

A recent article by St. Jude Inspire also commended Arceneaux for all that she’s accomplished, saying, “Hayley got through it with the support of family and St. Jude staff and discovered what she wanted to do in life — and where. Hayley studied medicine, graduating college in 2014 and from a physician assistant program in 2016. She’d landed her dream job at St. Jude and had been working with patients for a year when she was tapped to go to space.

“SpaceX’s Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital mission, launched Sept. 15, 2021, and orbited for three days before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean, raising an astronomical $250 million for St. Jude.”

St. Jude Inspire adds, “At 29, Hayley became the youngest American to orbit Earth, first pediatric cancer survivor in space, and first astronaut with a prosthetic, landing her on the cover of Time magazine and in the 2023 Guinness Book of World Records.”

Arceneaux, who also released her memoir “Wild Ride: A Memoir of IV Drips and Rocket Ships” in 2022, underwent six months of training, including zero-gravity flights, and simulator training, before she took off into orbit.

And although she worried she would “seem weaker” for her leg, she ultimately accepted what has happened to her saying her “two good legs” are able to take her anywhere.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Hayley Arceneaux (@hayleyarc)

According to St. Jude Inspire, when Hayley talked to St. June patients from a live feed, she admitted, “I do love getting the opportunity to share my experience with my patients and show them that life after cancer can be full of accomplished dreams, on or off the planet.”

She also recounted feeling “this sense of community with the entire world” when she looked down at Earth while in orbit.

Arceneaux concluded, “Life is short. I think that’s what spurs me to travel as much as I do. It changes you [traveling and going to space] … I’ve just become more me.”

Hayley Arceneaux’s Bone Cancer Battle

Hayley Arceneaux was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, when she was just 10 years-old. Her dad ultimately advocated for her to be treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. To treat her bone cancer, Arceneaux had chemotherapy, and surgery to remove her knee and thigh bone.

Speaking to People magazine in 2021, Arceneaux opened up about her battle, saying, “[I was] in treatment for a year of intense chemotherapy and several surgeries, including the placement of an internal prosthesis in my leg (making me the first person to go to space with one!).

“I understand these children [fighting cancer], I see them, and want to give them hope. My seat on Inspiration4, after all, is the ‘Hope Seat.'”

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Hayley Arceneaux (@hayleyarc)

Bone cancer can be treated with chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation.

Bone cancer can lead to experiencing a great deal of pain, but there are ways to cope with it and mitigate it. In an earlier interview, MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Dr. Sairah Ahmed told SurvivorNet, “The more physically fit you are going through your cancer treatment, the less side effects you’ll have and the faster you’ll get back to your normal quality of life.”

She added, “Stress control is often something that is not talked about and is not given much weight, but there is a lot of stress, both in terms of the patient who is going through cancer, as well as the family who has to support that patient.

“There is financial stress. There’s emotional stress. And being able to deal with that, as well as talk to professionals when you need it, is very important. Staying on cancer treatment is the one thing that will help to cure your disease.”

How to Cope With Bone Pain from Cancer

All About Sarcoma Cancer

Sarcomas are cancers that arise from the cells that hold the body together. They can occur in muscles, nerves, bones, fat, tendons, cartilage or other forms of connective tissues.

“There are hundreds of different kinds of sarcomas, which come from different kinds of cells,” Dr. George Demetri, director of the Sarcoma and Bone Oncology Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.

The word sarcoma refers to a large array of bone and soft tissue cancers; those are then further broken down into more specific forms of the disease, however, we will not list them all as there are more than 50 types of soft tissue sarcomas.

“Sarcomas are rare and the cause in most patients is unknown,” Dr. Vishal Gupta, site director of Radiation Oncology at The Blavatnik Family Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai, previously told SurvivorNet.

Advocating For Yourself While Navigating the Medical World

The word sarcoma refers to a large array of bone and soft tissue cancers, and individual cancers within that set go by unique names. For instance, other types of sarcomas include:

Ewing’s sarcoma: A cancer that typically occurs in and around the bones, often in the arms or legs, or the bones of the pelvis. It most commonly occurs in children and young adults.

Kaposi sarcoma: A very rare type of cancer that causes lesions on the skin, in lymph nodes, organs, and the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and throat. It typically affects people with compromised immune systems, such as those with HIV.
Epithelioid sarcoma: A type of soft tissue cancer that grows slowly. It is likely to begin under the skin of areas like the finger, hand, forearm, lower part of the leg, or foot.
Synovial sarcoma (also called malignant synovioma): A cancer that can form on soft tissues such as muscle or ligaments, commonly close to joints or in areas like the arm, leg, or foot.
Osteogenic sarcoma (also called osteosarcoma): Starts in the bone, often as it is forming as a young person grows.
Spindle cell sarcoma: A very rare disease, comprising as little as 2 percent of all primary bone cancer cases. It can start in the bone, often in the arms, legs, and pelvis, and usually occurs in people over 40.
Angiosarcoma: A rare cancer that develops in the inner lining of blood vessels and lymph vessels. It can occur anywhere in the body but is most often found in the skin, breast, liver and spleen.

Sarcoma Symptoms

The typical symptom of sarcomas is a slow-growing, painless mass. But sarcoma can be hard to detect through symptoms. “Unfortunately, most sarcomas do not cause many of the symptoms that may be associated with other cancer,” Dr. Dale Shepard, director of the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute Phase I and Sarcoma Programs, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.

Shepard explains that this often leads to large tumors at the time of diagnosis. “Soft tissue sarcomas are typically painless,” he says.

“Bone sarcomas may be mistaken for orthopedic injuries. A mass the size of a golf ball or larger and growing should be evaluated as a potential sarcoma. It’s important that patients who do have symptoms are not dismissive of them.”

Sarcoma Survivor Kara Ladd found solace in Reiki, Meditation, and Energy Healing During Treatment