A Message from my Roommate Jonah:

Hey guys. My roommate Jack is currently leading a St. Baldrick's 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.