16-Year-Old North Carolina Football Star with a ‘Warrior Spirit’ Fights Bone Cancer: ‘I Guess You Just Thank God That It Wasn’t Somebody Else’

Ennis, who lives in Northwood, North Carolina, was admirably productive during the pandemic when his games were canceled due to COVID-19 safety protocols. The linebacker worked out with a trainer nearly every day, in order to get in tip-top shape for the next season of play and to achieve his dream of playing college football.

“I put everything I possibly have into football because I know that it’ll give back to me,” Ennis tells ABC 11.

Coming up at 5 on @ABC11_WTVD Northwood High School football star @troy_ennis is determined to get back out on the football field. He says getting the opportunity to find something he loves in football has helped him to create a goal for himself which pushes him forward. pic.twitter.com/x6EqueTb8K

— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) July 1, 2021

Following an ankle injury, Ennis was later diagnosed with bone cancer.

Ennis’s Bone Cancer Journey

Ennis was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of cancerous tumor that forms in bone or soft tissue. The football player’s ankle injury led to doctor’s visits, X-rays and MRIs which showed that Ennis had bone cancer, rather than a typical ankle injury.

Related: Medical Student Krista Bose, 27, is Not Letting Metastatic Bone Cancer Get In the Way of Her Dream of Becoming a Doctor

His doctors informed him that the bone cancer had spread to other parts of his body, including his lungs and spine. Ennis was told that his five-year survival rate was 20%. He began treatment for the disease in April 2021, and it will include nine months of chemotherapy, along with a possible amputation of his leg.

“It was like stepping into hell and that’s what it’s been, four months of hell,” Troy said. “It continued to get worse. It was always bad news. Never good news.”

Troy eventually wants to play football again.  He said he loves football, so there’s a goal for him to push forward.

“That’s always going to be the goal, but at the same time, I think the reason why that goal is so prominent for me personally is because I know what the bad days are like,” he said. “I don’t ever want to let those days catch me and really bring me down to a point where I start giving up. I said it before but, it’s real easy to die. It’s really easy. It makes living so much harder and I’m proof of that. I’m going through chemotherapy. It’s really, really hard to stay there and be there for the people around you but that’s even more reason to go through it.”

College Athlete on TikTok Uses the Outdoors to Keep an Upbeat Mindset as He Faces Bone Cancer Diagnosis

Coping with a Diagnosis

Coping with a cancer diagnosis feels especially daunting, and it can perhaps be even more so for a young person, such as Ennis. Many people find therapy to be a helpful way to cope with a cancer diagnosis or a cancer-related loss.

Related: Did You Know Actor Tom Hanks' First Wife, Samantha Lewes, Battled Bone Cancer? Resources For Coping When A Spouse Has Cancer

For Camila Legaspi, who was also very young when cancer touched her life (she was in high school when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer), therapy helped. In an earlier interview, she says, “It just changed my life, because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on. Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings.”

“The reality is,” says Legaspi, “is when you lose someone, it’s really, really, really hard. And it’s totally OK to talk to someone. And I’m so happy that I talked to my therapist.”

"Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help

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