‘Hold Onto Hope Because there WILL Be Better Days’ Says Youngest Astronaut & Bone Cancer Survivor Hayley Arceneaux As She Poses with Picture of Younger Self

Related: 5 Things You Need to Know About 29-Year-Old Hayley Arceneaux, the Cancer Survivor Headed to Space With Inspiration4

In the face of such a fear-inducing prospect like three days in outer space, Arceneaux is cool, calm, and collected and she credits cancer (and beating cancer) with that. In a post shared to Instagram yesterday, Arceneaux appears in a spacesuit holding a picture of her bald-headed ten-year-old self as she fought cancer. She writes, “I want to thank everyone for all the support, encouragement, and love. Not only through the incredible adventure of going to space but over the past 19 years since this old picture was taken. And thank you to @stjude for being the reason I'm here today.”

 

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A post shared by Hayley Arceneaux (@hayleyarc)

She continues, “This is for everyone who's ever been through something difficult, and I know we all have. Hold onto hope because there WILL be better days.”

Support poured in for her in the post’s comments. St. Jude writes in a comment on her picture, “You give hope to all of us and we can't wait to watch you break barriers and make history today.”

Haley’s Bone Cancer Battle

Arceneaux was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, at 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.

Speaking to People magazine earlier this year, 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.”

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Coping with the Effects of Bone Cancer

Annually in the U.S., approximately 3,610 new cases of bone cancer are diagnosed. This type of 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 says, “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 continues, “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

 

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