In eighth grade, I started getting really sick. I was exhausted all the time. My parents started to get concerned and took me to the doctor. They did a hormone panel and realized something was very off. My levels were so off that they knew there had to be a tumor or something. They did a CT scan and found a 10-centimeter tumor on my adrenal gland.
My mom didn’t want to worry me, so she told me I had a small stomach cyst, which didn’t sound that bad. But she told me we had to go to the hospital. I was so confused. I was in this ward with other kids, and I realized I was the only one with hair. And I kept seeing things that were labeled like, “Chemotherapy Disposal,” and I started to wonder if I had cancer. After a few days, I really thought I must be dying. I was begging to go home, and no one would tell me anything.
Finally, I asked my dad, “Am I dying? Just tell me. I can take it.” And he said I wasn’t dying. So I asked, “Do I have cancer?” And he said, “I don’t know.” I was like, “Yes or no?” He told me I had a tumor, but they weren’t sure if it was cancerous because they couldn’t safely biopsy it. It was wrapped around my vena cava, a huge vein.
I had been so depressed, but for some reason, life got its color back. I thought, the fight’s not over yet. I remember having a conversation with my oncologist, and her telling me how there was a 95 percent chance that I had adrenal cortical carcinoma, likely Stage II, and that I’d have to have chemotherapy, and it was literally going to be like hell. I looked up statistics that if I had this cancer, I wouldn’t live till 15. And that’s if I even survived the surgery. But I just wasn’t listening, because something in me told me I was going to be OK and that all these statistics didn’t have anything to do with me.
I had to wait a couple of weeks for the surgery, because they had to fly out specialists. It was a very difficult surgery, but they removed the whole tumor and one of my adrenal glands, and it turned out not to be cancerous.
I thought, I am so blessed. But also, why did I get to be OK when all these other kids had cancer? It wasn’t fair. Right now, 20 minutes from my school, other kids are battling cancer at CHOC. Nobody deserves to go through that. I decided to start a nonprofit, The Fight’s Not Over Foundation. We’ve raised $11,000 for childhood cancer care and research, and my music streams help fund it.
I’ve always loved music. I’ve been singing Adele songs since I could speak. I’ve had the privilege of being mentored by Dionne Warwick’s son Damon Elliot, who is a producer, and I’ve gotten to meet Dolly Parton and have been mentored by Billy Ray Cyrus.
I came out with an album a few months ago, and there are songs on there that I wrote, like “Backseat Driver,” that tell my story about how when I was 14, I had to start my life over from scratch. And I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. I think starting over, at any age and for any reason, can be beautiful.
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