Among those affected by cancer, there is no denying the existence of fear and struggle. But SurvivorNet has also found an abundance of resilience and hope. To celebrate all of the amazing cancer survivor stories we were able to share in 2021, we've compiled a list of some we'd like to present to you once more as we close out the year.
Oswald Peterson
Oswald Peterson, 54, is a dancer from Brooklyn, NY, and a stage four, or metastatic, lung cancer survivor meaning his cancer had spread outside of the lung. He serves as a living example of the miracle of cancer research. His life-saving treatment was approved by the Food and Drug Administration mere months before his stage four diagnosis.
Read MoreAlex Echols
Best-selling author Alex Echols is a late-stage lymphoma survivor. And humble as can be, Echols credits his resilience to his upbringing in a violence-ridden neighborhood that he’s since left.
His treatment included high-dose chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant not an easy journey by any means. But through it all, Echols remained optimistic as ever.
“Even during some of the most challenging days and nights, when I didn't have any energy, I looked for things to be grateful for,” he said. “I've always felt like I've been an optimist my entire life, and I've always seen things as the glass half full.”
Now, he’s on the other side of his cancer journey and sharing what he’s learned with the world through his work. He’s an emotional intelligence leadership-based trainer and the bestselling co-author of The Two-Week Notice: How to Discover Your Passion, Quit Your Job + Impact Our World.
“Honestly, I've just gotten back into such a rich and beautiful life for myself,” he said.
Lilly Bumpus
Another unforgettable story is that of 9-year-old pediatric cancer survivor Lilly Bumpus. She was born with Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that is often found in children and young adults.
All before she turned one, Bumpus underwent intense rounds of chemotherapy and had some of her bones removed from her chest wall. Thankfully, those efforts were successful, and she’s still in remission today, though chemotherapy has left her with lasting side effects like bone deformation.
And as if kicking cancer’s butt wasn’t enough, she’s also beaten the Girl Scout cookie sales record for most boxes sold in a single season. She sold more than 32,000 boxes of cookies this year despite operating in a world ensnared by the pandemic.
"My favorite thing about Lilly is that she never gives up," her mother, Trish, previously told SurvivorNet. "So, Lillybug got to 10,000 boxes one week into Girl Scout cookie season. Never, ever has that happened. So we went from there. I then approached Girl Scouts and said, 'What happens now if she sells 20,000 boxes?' And they said, '20,000 boxes, yeah, okay.' So we said, 'Game on.' So then we sold on and sold on, and she got into 20,000 boxes."
"And then we went to 32,000," added Lilly.
Adam Whitt
Adam Whitt, 28, is a golfer, former Houston Astros baseball star and a chronic myeloid leukemia survivor who’s turned to his experience as an athlete to push him through his ongoing cancer journey.
“I mean, it's, it's tough,” he said of chemotherapy treatments. “And so that was one of the things that all my years of playing baseball and competitiveness and all that stuff really came out and helped me, I think, was keeping a positive attitude, working through it and making sure I still got out and did some type of physical activity, whether early on it was just, you know, taking my wife and walking around the block.”
And from someone who admits he thought of baseball as his entire life, Whitt says cancer gave him a whole new perspective on life.
“You know, I just want to be here next month, next week,” he said. “And it really puts things in perspective and makes you live for the moment.”
Eduardo Garcia
Charged The Eduardo Garcia Story is an award-winning SurvivorNetTV documentary following chef Eduardo Garcia's incredible journey overcoming testicular cancer.
Garcia was on a hunting and fishing trip through the Montana backcountry in 2011 when he stumbled upon what he thought were the remains of a bear in a tin can that ended up being an old electrical junction box. When he attempted to remove its claw with his knife, he received an extremely severe electrical shock of 2400 volts. He lost an arm and nearly his life.
But his health struggles didn’t stop there. At the hospital, doctors also found that Garcia had testicular cancer. He needed to start chemotherapy immediately before beginning reconstructive surgeries.
Thankfully, Garcia beat the disease and has since returned to cooking up some delectable eats using a prosthetic arm. He’s a true warrior at heart who’s happy to be in remission and grateful for the people who helped to get him there.
“Everyone that has encouraged me, and supported me, and forgiven me, and held me accountable has brought me to today and how I make my life moving forward,” he said.
Shelia Johnson
Living successfully with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, Shelia Johnson is a cancer thriver in the truest sense of the phrase. The mother of two turned to the kitchen as a creative outlet after her diagnosis, but coming to terms with her cancer was no easy task.
“When you’re diagnosed with cancer and a cancer that has no cure you’re like, wait a minute,” she said. “I mean, you really have to look at your mortality and go, ‘OK, what am I going to do with this information?'”
Now, she hosts her own YouTube cooking show, Gangsta Goodies Kitchen, and shares her passion for bringing people together with food that is as tasty as it is healthy.
“I got to a place where my diet was about 75% plant-based beets and carrots and apples and spinach and collards things from nature that we can use to help our bodies fight,” she said.
Meghan Koziel
Thinking about sex after cancer can be a scary thought, but it should be a part of the cancer-care conversation if you’d like it to be. Breast cancer survivor Meghan Koziel is working to make that happen by unapologetically bringing sex positivity to the cancer community.
“We are sexual beings,” she said. “And just because we had cancer doesn't mean that we can't still be just as beautiful, just as fun and just as sexy in the bedroom.”
Koziel underwent fertility preservation, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, a double mastectomy and multiple reconstructive surgeries during her cancer journey. She says “feeling sexy after breast cancer is tough,” but she’s determined to help other women reclaim their sexuality through her advocacy and education.
"Communicate, tell [your partner] what feels good. Find different companies that can actually help your dryness, your pain and your discomfort [during sex]," she said. "Don't be afraid to ask your doctor for suggestions, try different products, try different things that can help you have fun in the bedroom… Don't be afraid of different lubricants. Don't be afraid of using CBD. Don't be afraid of using toys. Women need to know that regaining your sexual confidence is a struggle. It's not an overnight thing."
Hil Moss
Despite having no family history of the disease, Hil Moss was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28. She had to put her life on hold to fight a disease she knew little about, but Moss made it through with an immense amount of support from her loved ones and others within the breast cancer community.
“It made it feel like I was never alone in that process,” she said.
And that support meant so much to her, that Moss decided to change her trajectory in life altogether. She left her career in arts and culture to pursue a degree in public health, and now she works with companies to improve the patient experience and make healthcare more accessible to all.
“There's so much power to be found in coming together and understanding how we can make this experience better for all of us and for future generations of cancer patients,” Moss said.
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