Hey guys. My roommate Jack is currently leading a St. Baldricks fundraiser at Valpo, and this is my attempt at giving back. Childhood cancer is something my family is unfortunately quite familiar with, so funding the research for it is something I have a lot of passion for.

In case you did not know, last year on campus, I had the opportunity to experience something no one should go through at such a young age. There was a suspicious bump on my leg after my knee dislocation senior year, and it was not going away as the doctors were hoping. After a biopsy over winter break, I learned 2 days into my second semester of freshman year of college that I had a cancerous tumor, a myxoid liposarcoma (See https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24731-myxoid-liposarcoma for more details). Only about 2000 people are diagnosed with this strain of cancer per year, making it one of the rarer types of cancer.

As a freshman, I had to drive 5 days a week to a hospital for radiation treatment and missed over a month of the school year recovering from the tumor removal surgery. While I am fortunate to have made it due to the brilliant surgeons at Northwestern, it was the research and especially the funding for that research that made my surgery a success, especially considering how obscure that type of cancer is.

I am forever grateful for the help of my friends for their emotional support as I went through this, especially all of the calls when I was stuck at home. I am also grateful to my parents, Ellen and Jonathan DeMik, for everything from cooking me meals when I could not walk, hanging out with me when I was lonely, driving me to Chicago for appointments, and nameless other acts of love.

While I technically was not a child when I learned of my tumor, unfortunately my sister was. She was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma, a form of thyroid cancer around a month before I received my diagnosis and had her thyroid gland (with two nodules embedded) removed a bit before I had my surgery. I am amazed by her bravery and determination every day. She is truly one of the strongest people I know, navigating a major surgery on her neck without complaining while continuing her classes and schoolwork at junior high. She loves the team at Lurie Children's Hospital, and I am thankful for their astounding treatment of her and the rest of us as we dealt with both of these tough situations simultaneously.

I am truly grateful for all of the support my family and me have received throughout this difficult journey. Thank you for caring.

With that being said, I would really appreciate any donations in honor of my sister and me, or anyone else you know who has gone through the struggles of cancer.