With Mississippi State University hosting its annual Relay for Life in the Sanderson Center last Friday, it is the hope that America grows closer each year to finding a cure for cancer to eradicate this horrible disease. According to Cancer.org, “cancer remains the second cause of common deaths in the United States.” (I inserted the quotation marks because it sounds like a direct quote. If it’s not, you can remove them.) Cancer has been known to claim people of all ages, ethnicities, and social class. This disease does not care who it infects, it just attacks your body without any regret. It is the hope that progressing research will stop cancer from affecting the lives of average citizens.
The question is, how does one accept the fact that he or she has cancer and can possibly lose that battle before it even begins?
There is a girl named of Lauren Hill who shall be remembered for her battle against cancer by the friends, family and people of the world that she touched during her final months on this Earth. Stories about Lauren Hill have been seen on all major media outlets from ESPN, FOX news, and even to the pages of USA today. Lauren was diagnosed on November 20, 2013 with a type of cancer known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gilorma, also known as DIPG. as a shorter term. The DIPG registry website states that DIPG is a cancer that forms on the brain stem on the lower back of the brain and that less than ten percent of patients live no longer than two years.
Despite being a high school senior who knew her cancer was inoperable, Lauren made it to Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio where she committed to play basketball. In September 2014, Lauren was told that she only had a few months left to live.
Imagine being 19 years old knowing that you only have a few months left to live. How would you react? Lauren did not think about the things she could not accomplish, but instead she thought about all the goals she could accomplish before leaving this Earth. The NCAA allowed Mount St. Joseph to move their game against Hiriam College up two weeks to allow Lauren the opportunity to play in her first and last game as a freshman. The Mount St. Joseph Lions took a victory of 66 to 55 over Hiriam College in front of a sold out crowd in the Xavier University Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lauren was the headline of the game where she scored four points with her left hand despite being dominant with her right hand because her entire right side of her body was being affected by DIPG.
The highlights of the game — besides Lauren playing her first game — was that former coach Pat Summitt of the Tennessee Volunteers women’s basketball team presented her with a $5,000 check that would be donated to the Cure Starts Now Foundation. Summitt also presented Lauren with the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award. The Cure Starts Now Foundation is dedicated to eradicating DIPG in children and teens. Lauren retired from basketball in December and became an honorary coach of the Mount St. Joseph Lions where she helped coach her team and helped the Cure Starts Now Foundation raise money for the DIPG cancer fund. Lauren’s goal was to raise 2.2 million dollars for the foundation. She did not reach this goal, but as of today she raised nearly 1.5 million dollars for the Cure Starts Now foundation. Lauren Hill became the face for all children battling DIPG worldwide.
Lauren Hill touched many athletes and coaches around the world with her story. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Pat Summitt, former coach of the Lady Tennessee Volunteers, Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks, and Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills are some of the many athletes that commented on how Lauren Hill touched them with her inspirational story.
Lauren Hill succumbed to DIPG on April 10, 2015 as she lost her battle with cancer. Lauren Hill was not your average teenager. Lauren Hill is someone people of all ages can look up to because she became the face of a type of cancer that never had a face. Lauren touched millions with her inspiration and will to never give up to this disease.
Students will find themselves sometimes complaining about how rough life can be or how they hate going to class, but students should realize that some others have it worse off.
Doing research on Lauren taught me that as a 21-year-old, I should be happy because I am healthy and I do not currently have an illness or sickness to worry about. My advice to myself and to others is that we should stop complaining and living so cowardly in our daily lives. That she we should be happy to wake up healthy and active because someone else does not have the same luxury as us. We should all strive to accomplish our goals without any fear of failure or fear about what others may think of us. If we learn to accomplish these simple things, we can learn to live a full life because you never know when it may come to an end.
The important thing to learn from Lauren Hill is that she lived without any regrets or fear. We should be like Lauren and help those around us who need us most in this world. Lauren is a true example of what Stuart Scott said during his speech at the ESPY’s while he was battling cancer, “When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”
