Student stays positive through cancer battle
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 11/05/2009
sponsored by
After countless hours of chemotherapy, a Purdue student is finally in remission, for the second time.
Sarah Strong, a junior in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences, went to the doctor in April 2008 for sharp chest pains and for what she believed would be an asthma diagnosis.
She said she will never forget the look the doctor gave her parents and the tone he used when he said, “Mr. and Mrs. Strong, can I talk to you?” After the five-minute meeting, which she said seemed like a lifetime, Strong was told – at 19 years old – she had stage two Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“I didn’t ever think death was coming,” she said, as she told herself, “I am going to take every step, plus one, to make sure it’s not coming back.”
Strong finished out her finals and headed home to Illinois for a summer fighting cancer.
She went through five rounds of chemotherapy for eight hours once every three weeks.
She won and was in remission in time to start her sophomore year back at Purdue. She had check-ups every six months and even landed an internship on the East coast.
On Monday of the week she was due to start her internship, she was re-diagnosed at 20 years old and was immediately placed in the Intensive Care Unit.
“I was devastated it came back,” Strong said. “Especially with there only being a 10 to 15 percent chance for it to, and it did so aggressively. I was in shock.”
She explained the cancer had come back in her lungs and was wrapped around her trachea. Compared to the average quarter-sized trachea, hers was the size of a pea.
After completing a more intensive round of treatment, Strong went into remission. She became involved in a research study at Loyola University, where she collected more than five million of her stem cells in three days, which would later be inserted back inside of her to guarantee the cancer would not return.
She said she is 10 times more likely to get sick because her immune system has to rebuild, which takes up to a year.
Aside from having cancer and going through treatment, there are side effects like losing her sense of taste, getting sick, feeling fatigued and losing her hair.
“In the beginning I was really concerned about not having hair and I wore my wig a lot,” she said. “But now I know there’s no point to hide something you’re going through. Now I enjoy not wearing it; I don’t think I’m ugly without it.”
Strong deemed her family and friends her support group and said she stays positive because her parents have done a great job of not letting her feel sorry for herself.
“I don’t think some people realize how hard life can be ... I don’t get caught up in the drama, there is so much more that people are dealing with.”
If you ask anyone who knows Strong, they will say she is a happy, positive person.
“My mom has asked me, ‘I don’t know how you’ve been so positive,’ ... Everyone’s so scared of cancer. It’s not that I’m scared, I just know I am going to get through it, because if you say you’re not, you won’t. You have to have a positive attitude.”
Strong dons “Livestrong” and “Cancer Sucks” bracelets. She laughed as she said, “Everyone thinks it’s ironic my last name is Strong.”
She also wears a necklace, as a bracelet, that Lizzy Ketcik, a senior in the College of Engineering and member of Strong’s sorority, had made to support her.
“On one side they have our letters on them and on the other side there’s the Chinese symbol for strength,” Ketcik said.
Ketcik said she is inspired by Strong’s strength and looks forward to having her back at Purdue – Strong had to skip the fall semester, but plans to return.
“I heard her open up about it a few times but she never broke down – she’s always positive – it’s the most inspiring thing about her,” Ketcik said.
Strong explained the hardest part, beside not being in school with her friends, is not having many people her age to relate with, as she said she is the youngest in her cancer support group, filled with mostly 50- and 60-year-olds. Sticking true to her positive side, she added, “But it’s still kind of cool because although all ages are different, no matter how old, we can all relate to each other.”
She said she hopes when she does return to Purdue, there will be a support group with students on campus, so peers don’t have to feel so alone while going through treatment.
Strong said she will never forget being diagnosed and having to call family and friends, crying so hard, she was barely able to tell them what was wrong. But better yet, she will never forget hearing the news she was cancer-free and celebrating with a glass of champagne with friends.
“I am in remission and it feels great,” she said. “It was the best news we’ve ever found out.”