Cancer survivors share stories of struggle and
triumph
Jonathan Fiedler/ Reporter
Cancer is among the most feared health problems in America
today. The frightening part of this potentially deadly
disease is that about 1,500 people die of cancer each day in
the United States. Cancer is the second leading cause of
death in America next to heart disease, with one in four
deaths due to cancer.
In a five-year relative survival rate of all cancers
diagnosed between 1995 and 2000, 64 percent of the cancer
patients survived. Those who survive this disease live on
with an inspirational testimony worth sharing with others.
This is a narrative of four cancer survivors at Elon.
Jayson Teagle, junior, is an example of someone whose joyful
outlook on life after overcoming obstacles is admirable. At
the age of two, he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia by
doctors. Upon this medical analysis, the medications did not
help.
In 1990, after moving through school while being sick very
often, Teagle’s doctors found a brain tumor the size of
a golf ball lodged in his head. Most people with astrocytoma,
cancer of the nervous tissue, have a 10 percent chance of
living.
Due to the early detection, Teagle went on to recover and
live a normal life. He feels blessed to be a survivor.
“Why get mad about the little things in life?”
Teagle asked.
Teagle is one student who helps us all put things in better
perspective.
Senior Jackie Lewis has always been one who takes pride in
putting smiles on people’s faces. She is known for her
joy for life and love bestowed toward others.
During the spring semester of 2005, the main symptoms of her
cancer started with her face getting extremely swollen. Lewis
has always been a well-trained runner, but she began to lose
her breath after climbing a flight of stairs. She knew
something was wrong.
When she went home during the summer of 2005, the doctors
found a tumor the size of a softball inside of her thorax.
The results from the tumor came out to be Non-Hodgkins
lymphoma. The cancer was malignant and very serious.
Nonetheless, Lewis is one tough cookie.
She underwent an excruciatingly painful spinal tap along
with six rounds of chemotherapy. Following the chemotherapy,
Lewis went through radiation for five weeks. Her last
radiation caused her to miss the fall semester of her junior
year.
Lewis always knew she had a supportive family, but that
truth was hammered home throughout this endeavor. Her parents
took off from work and never left her side, and her
supportive younger brother wrote her encouraging
letters.
Her sorority was exceptionally concerned and there for her
throughout the sickness. It was obvious she had tons of
people who cared deeply for her and were behind her with
prayer.
Initially, Lewis remembered she would question why she
deserved to have cancer. But later on, she learned to trust
God.
“I realized that God knew all along that I was to have
cancer, and He has a good reason. I should have been asking
myself the question, ‘How can I use this to glorify
God? How can I use my suffering to help and inspire
others?’” Lewis said.
And inspire she does. Today she is a beacon of light for
people by showing how we can all handle adversity.
“Life isn’t always beautiful, but it’s a
beautiful ride,” she said.
Pat Kepley, a sophomore from northern Virginia, remembers
being sick at an early age. He and his family did not
understand the reason behind his numerous headaches. He would
go though pre-school often feeling terrible.
Then, he finally got medical help. He was diagnosed with
cancer at the age of four. The doctors found a lymphoma tumor
in his left thigh. Kepley would go through two years of
chemotherapy and radiation. He went into remission for more
than five years.
Later, at the age of 13, Kepley relapsed with leukemia. He
would go though to two more years of chemotherapy treatment.
But his parents’ care never was absent.
“They were always very supportive,” Kepley
said.
Today, Kepley has a slight reading disability and weak
knees, caused by the treatment. But these limitations do not
hold him back from having a good perspective on life.
“Cancer has made me less worrisome of petty things and
small insecurities of life,” Kepley said. “Things
could be so much worse.”
Through this journey, Kepley now has a great appreciation
for the simpler things. He is also more relaxed and laid back
about everyday life.
Sophomore Alex Nickodem grew up a normal kid who was in
fantastic physical shape. In February of 1993, he was
diagnosed with a brain tumor.
He remembers being diagnosed and a day later, he found
himself on the operation table. Two weeks after the
operation, he started having radiation to his head and spine.
Alex lost quite a bit of weight and took time off from school
to take care of himself, but he made it through the disease
with help from his friends and family.
Today, Nickodem looks back at the experience as a positive
one.
“Being diagnosed with cancer was the best thing that
ever happened to me,” Nickodem said.
He believes that if he had not been diagnosed with cancer
years ago, he would not be who he is today.
Nickodem is a huge advocate of Relay for Life, a widely
known cancer walk. He tries to help others who went through
the same thing he did.
All of these survivors share common threads. They all credit
their loving friends and families for where they are
today.
They all recognize how wonderful life is. Sure, bad things
happen and life has its pitfalls. But undoubtedly, these
incredible students understand that life is something not
worth taking for granted.
Contact Jonathan Fiedler at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247. | 
