Kayli’s Story: A Unique Opportunity

My life changed when I was eight years old. My late changed forever when I was thirteen years old. You see, my name is Kayli Hostetler and I was diagnosed with Ganglioneuroblastoma when I was eight. Two days after I was diagnosed, the grapefruit-sized tumor was removed by Dr. Pittinger at Akron Children’s Hospital. As with all cancer, it was a whirlwind of events, and I honestly don’t recall much about this time other than the pain and plethora of stuffed animals. I didn’t comprehend the situation when I was eight. A two year process of understanding began when I was thirteen, and Dr. Kuerbitz called to say that the cancer was back.

I honestly didn’t think it would ever come back. Dr. Pittinger removed this second tumor, and after the surgery I got a staph infection in my ten-inch incision. Dr. Kuerbitz said that there were low odds that the cancer would ever come back… he was wrong. When I was fourteen, Dr. Keurbitz called once again to say that I had three new tumors that needed to be removed. This time also required chemotherapy and radiation that caused me to lose thirty pounds, my hair, and my social life. One year later, I was told I had another tumor but they were just going to watch it with scans. Now, at age seventeen, they are still watching the tumor but it remains stable as of my last scan four months ago.

During my time as an invalid, I learned that life is fragile and unpredictable. I realized what most adults understand too late… life is not guaranteed. You need to celebrate the small things and live life to its fullest; you really never know when it’s going to come to an end. Though the cancer has taken much away from me, it has also given me something invaluable: my determination to annihilate pediatric cancer. Nobody likes to think about the fact that children are dying everyday to the number one disease killer of children in the United States — cancer. My dream is that one day pediatric cancer will be obsolete — only read about in history books.

I believe that I am in a unique position to battle cancer; I have had pediatric cancer, but I also have the intellect to do something more to fight it. I think my determination is exemplified through the fact that even though I missed a lot of school in the two years following my treatment, I am still able to graduate at seventeen, a year earlier than my peers, with a 4.0 G.PA. and standardized test scores in the 95th percentile. I have become focused, driven and committed to my goal of obliterating cancer. Becoming a pediatric oncologist will help me to make a difference and find a cure. I know that I will be an exceptional pediatric oncologist because I know exactly what the kids go through, and I have a personal fight with cancer myself. I have taken from my experience and want to try my level best to make sure no child should ever have to deal with this monster.

This has not been an easy road, but I will not allow cancer to live my life for me — even though it would be easy to do so. I know that by having experienced it myself, I can better empathize with those children that will be my patients. The cancer will not kill me, instead I will kill the cancer. I will spend the rest of my life working towards the goal of eliminating childhood cancer.