A Survivor and Hero
My name is Chad Bowen and I am a 15 year cancer survivor. At the age of 13, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (T-Cell). At that age it was really hard for me to understand what cancer is, and what it can do to a person physically and mentally. I remember saying, “Cancer is something old people get right?” Well it didn’t take me long to realize the misconception of cancer. Cancer has no prejudice, nor does it just affect the person that was diagnosed with the disease. It affects our loved ones as well.
At the age of 13 I had my whole life ahead of me. I was about to join the junior varsity football team. That was a big deal for me, because football was my life and my dream. After my diagnoses, the realization of not being able to play football was destroying that dream, but football was the least of my worries at that point. Seeing my parent’s world fall apart was the most horrible thing I have ever experienced. It was then I realized that I had to beat this disease, not only for me, but for my family as well. After two years of chemo and many unscheduled hospital visits, I was cancer free and remain cancer free today. While treatments and protocols have a lot to do with how our bodies react to cancer, I found that the support of loved ones and a positive attitude has everything to do with our recovery.
Now I'm excited to give back by supporting Connor's Heroes in its mission. I'm helping to make Hero Connections by helping kids with cancer to meet some of their favorite musical performers at Innsbrook After Hours and I'm working on starting an art therapy program to support kids who are on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.
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