" You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. -Richard Bach"

A little about me...

Hi! My name is Laura. I am 19 years old. I am a vocal music education major at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Some of my hobbies and interests... MUSIC!!! I play the flute & piccolo, piano, and guitar, and I sing!

Information about my illness...

In 1984, when I was 1 years old, I was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. I was treated at Children's Hospital, Columbus, and Ohio State University Hospital. I had radiation and surgery.

My words to others...

My suggestions to other survivors are... Be greatful for every day. Share the gift of life that you've been given with everyone you meet. Let people who are struggling with cancer know that there is hope; there is life after cancer, and we're living proof!

The most important lesson I learned from my experience is... Since I was one when I was diagnosed, I don't remember my experience with cancer. However, I have attended various summer camps since I was eight years old. When I was nine, I went to a Girl Scout camp, as well as an American Cancer Society camp for cancer survivors. Going to both of these camps really helped me to put my situation in perspective. I wore a backbrace for ten years. At Girl Scout camp, some of my peers would look at me slightly oddly when I'd take it off to shower or go swimming, but at my cancer camps, no one thought anything of it, especially when someone else would take off their leg and hop right into the water. The neatest thing about these camps, though, was the bond that all of us campers shared. We had an understanding... and that's truly special.

A positive outcome from my experience is... Because of my experience with cancer, my life has been forever changed, although I never knew my life without it. I see things in a more positive light than most of my peers. Perhaps this is merely my personality, but I feel that my personality has been shaped because of what I've been through. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my cancer; however, cancer is something that makes me special. I feel that it is my calling in life is to me a light for those struggling. There is hope!

" I'm not fighting to get back where I was but to get somewhere new! I am a forever changed person. -Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies, cancer survivor. "