My name is Ellie DeLucia…A childhood cancer survivor

Cancer needs to be cured. Enough is enough. Everyone is touched by this ageless disease at some point in their life, whether it is their parent, sibling, child, friend, or self. For me, it was when I was three-years-old, and my cancer stole almost all of my vision, permanently. Curing cancer does not seem to be social issue in the limelight anymore. Instead it has become a “back burner” issue. I believe that curing this disease can be the public issue that unites all of our country, thus achieving the greatest national accomplishment since landing a human on the moon. At the current age of seventeen, my contribution to curing cancer is one of awareness, and my abbreviated story is below.

When I was three, my parents noticed that I was having trouble with my vision. It seemed like I needed glasses, so it was off to the eye doctor, who instead sent me directly to the hospital for an MRI. By the end of the day, I was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and declared legally blind. Consequently, my childhood was not been an easy one, and I struggled with my faith to understand why I was the one chosen to endure such hardship. My years were filled with dozens of MRIs (and still counting), thousands of needle sticks, tons of medications, endless hours of appointments and treatments, gallons of tears (and chemotherapy), one or two school pictures without hair, and quite a few life experiences and medical procedures that my parents told me most adults would never likely have to endure. I had to overcome my fear of needles, and lie still, while nurses poked needles into my chest over and over, week after week. My parents watched my chin quiver and my hands clench as we all tried to be brave. How were they supposed to explain to me as a child why I had to experience this suffering?

I am told to think about my cancer as a chronic illness, like diabetes or colitis. Unfortunately, my “chronic illness” took most of my vision before I even started kindergarten. I can read braille, but cannot read the chalkboard at school, even from the front row. And even though I can never get a driver’s license, I am ranked third out of 310 students in my senior high school class. I bet most people would rather lose an arm than their sight, but that is no the case for me. To me, my lack of sight is definitely an inconvenience, but not something that prevents me from making a positive impact on the world around me.

I refuse to let cancer and blindness limit my potential. My past is what has made me who I am today, and I would not have the same perspective on life if not for those challenges. Nonetheless, my path is one I hope no other child has to follow, because one more child diagnosed with cancer is one too many. I pray that our leaders have the courage and resolve to make curing cancer their number one priority.

~~Ellie DeLucia