Growing up quickly
Teenagers with cancer face a unique set of challenges
by Saul Wisnia
Rebecca Karp, 15, is currently undergoing treatment for a rhabomyosarcoma at Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic.
As Liza Trafton prepared for her high school graduation last June, she had plenty on her mind. Not only was the senior from Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., saying goodbye to her friends and marking a major milestone toward adulthood, but she was also to face her first round of chemotherapy just a few hours after donning her cap and gown.
"I am very lucky — and thankful — that my doctors were able to plan my treatment around events like my prom and graduation," says Trafton, an 18-year-old from Providence, R.I., being treated for aplastic anemia at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "I didn't want my illness to interrupt my senior year at all. I knew I had to have a bone marrow transplant, but I was able to hold it off so I could graduate with my class."
"If you get cancer when you're 3, it's all you know. Younger kids can't understand that this is not normal. Teenagers can."
— Rebecca Karp, 15
Living with cancer is a burden at any age, but battling the disease can be particularly challenging during adolescence — a time when school, peer, and familial pressures are often already high. Teenagers in this situation are forced to give up their independence just when they crave it most, and frequently must come face-to-face with their own mortality before they are even old enough to vote. While some teens may live and drive dangerously, spurred by a belief they are invincible, those with cancer quickly learn they are not.
As tough as it is to discover they can experience real pain, however, many young patients refuse to let their illnesses keep them down. They schedule their treatments around everything from final exams to soccer seasons, and, in the midst of it all, find themselves looking at life in a new way. Trafton and other teens cared for at the Jimmy Fund Clinic and Children's Hospital are now able to more fully appreciate what they have — exhibiting a refreshing attitude and maturity well beyond their years.
Curtis Calvin, 19
"It's been very humbling," explains Curtis Glavin, 19, of Hyde Park, Mass., who was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma when he was just 11. In remission after two bouts with the disease, he is now a sophomore at Boston University (B.U.). "I realize I'm more dependent on a lot of people than I might have thought, but it's also helped me to be more determined and concentrate more in school," he reflects. "My perspective is, I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for all these people who helped me. So now I want to help society as much as I can — and live as long as possible."
- Next: The struggle to acceptance
- Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
