“Auguste we’ve been lying to you.” My dad turned off the TV and my stomach dropped as he turned towards me. I immediately started thinking about all the things I had recently done that could get me in trouble. I shot him a puzzled look and said, “Okay… about what?”
When my dad told me I had been diagnosed with cancer, the only thing I was worried about was losing my hair. I looked up the side effects of chemo, but that did not prepare me for what it was actually going to be like. Google didn’t tell me that when I came home from my first treatment, my own dogs wouldn’t recognize me. At that moment, I realized that this was actually happening. I wasn’t going to wake up the next day and have my hair back. I felt completely hopeless; when I would look in the mirror I didn’t see myself. I felt trapped in my own body. I started realizing that by felling this way, cancer was winning. This journey wasn’t going to be over after thirteen months of treatment; I had to be strong at all times. Cancer tried to beat and define me, but I wasn’t going to let it.
As a result of cancer, my life values have changed, and my appreciation for the gift of life has more than multiplied. I have become stronger emotionally and spiritually. But even now, two years and three months after treatment, I continue to be filled with frustration. Childhood cancer is extremely underfunded, and there is little to no awareness regarding it. I want to fight for larger allocation of federal funds, help redefine the process of experimental drugs, clinical trials, and alternative means to help find cures. There has been little change in the protocol to fight childhood cancer in over 30 years. I have been given the opportunity to see the thin line of life and death and will use this second chance to help others. My goal of continuing my education will provide me with the knowledge to improve the laws that currently guide childhood cancer. Childhood cancer is not glamorous; it’s the rarest form of cancer and therefore receives only 4% of all federal money.
My parents and I started a non-profit foundation, TEAM AUGUSTE. The money we raise through various fundraising efforts allows us to visit children hospitals, provide care baskets, provide some financial relief to families that can’t pay their bills, and drop off holiday gifts for current cancer patients. On day I’d like to raise enough money to build a home for cancer patient families that have to travel to receive treatment, but can’t afford a place to live, as well as host events for cancer survivors to come and bond. All of these efforts are heartfelt contributions and do provide short-term relief. However, there is a reason I was diagnosed with cancer and there is even a better reason why I beat cancer. I know I have the abilities through hard work to make a huge impact on childhood cancer. I don’t want kids to have to endure the hell my body has had to endure or the mental anguish wondering “what if?”
Cancer never defined who I was, but it did shape me into the person I am today. A second chance at life is a privilege to provide to others and share what I have gone through. I hope to leave a legacy through my organization and contributions to those who have cancer and other survivors such as myself.
-Auguste Fout