\u201cAuguste we\u2019ve been lying to you.\u201d My dad turned off the TV and my stomach dropped as he turned towards me.\u00a0 I immediately started thinking about all the things I had recently done that could get me in trouble.\u00a0 I shot him a puzzled look and said, \u201cOkay\u2026 about what?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When my dad told me I had been diagnosed with cancer, the only thing I was worried about was losing my hair.\u00a0 I looked up the side effects of chemo, but that did not prepare me for what it was actually going to be like.\u00a0 Google didn\u2019t tell me that when I came home from my first treatment, my own dogs wouldn\u2019t recognize me.\u00a0 At that moment, I realized that this was actually happening. I wasn\u2019t going to wake up the next day and have my hair back.\u00a0 I felt completely hopeless; when I would look in the mirror I didn\u2019t see myself.\u00a0 I felt trapped in my own body.\u00a0 I started realizing that by felling this way, cancer was winning.\u00a0 This journey wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t going to let it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As a result of cancer, my life values have changed, and my appreciation for the gift of life has more than multiplied.\u00a0 I have become stronger emotionally and spiritually.\u00a0 But even now, two years and three months after treatment, I continue to be filled with frustration.\u00a0 Childhood cancer is extremely underfunded, and there is little to no awareness regarding it.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 There has been little change in the protocol to fight childhood cancer in over 30 years.\u00a0 I have been given the opportunity to see the thin line of life and death and will use this second chance to help others.\u00a0\u00a0 My goal of continuing my education will provide me with the knowledge to improve the laws that currently guide childhood cancer.\u00a0 Childhood cancer is not glamorous; it\u2019s the rarest form of cancer and therefore receives only 4% of all federal money.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
My parents and I started a non-profit foundation, TEAM AUGUSTE.\u00a0 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\u2019t pay their bills, and drop off holiday gifts for current cancer patients.\u00a0 On day I\u2019d like to raise enough money to build a home for cancer patient families that have to travel to receive treatment, but can\u2019t afford a place to live, as well as host events for cancer survivors to come and bond.\u00a0 All of these efforts are heartfelt contributions and do provide short-term relief.\u00a0 However, there is a reason I was diagnosed with cancer and there is even a better reason why I beat cancer.\u00a0 I know I have the abilities through hard work to make a huge impact on childhood cancer.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want kids to have to endure the hell my body has had to endure or the mental anguish wondering \u201cwhat if?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cancer never defined who I was, but it did shape me into the person I am today.\u00a0 A second chance at life is a privilege to provide to others and share what I have gone through.\u00a0 I hope to leave a legacy through my organization and contributions to those who have cancer and other survivors such as myself.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
-Auguste Fout<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cAuguste we\u2019ve been lying to you.\u201d My dad turned off the TV and my stomach dropped as he turned towards me.\u00a0 I immediately started thinking about all the things I had recently done that could get me in trouble.\u00a0 I shot him a puzzled look and said, \u201cOkay\u2026 about what?\u201d When my dad told […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions\/150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}