My name is Madi, and this last year and a half, I have been receiving treatment for a cancerous brain tumor, medulloblastoma, that I had surgically removed on December 15, 2023. I was 14 years old and had just started my freshman year of high school. I then did online school during my sophomore year, as I was unable to go to school because of the chemotherapy, as well as the surgery resulting in mild posterior fossa syndrome. I was in no place physically to return in person that year.

This year, I am returning in person to my high school, Allentown Central Catholic, after a tough 14 months of chemotherapy, in addition to proton beam radiation in the beginning. I rang the bell on June 17, 2025, showing that I had won my battle. That feeling isindescribable. I felt a sense of joy, but also sadness. The people that helped me along this journey turned into some of my greatest friends and were like family to me.

I couldn't have done it without all of them...my wonderful team of oncologists, my amazing nurses who I talked to about perfume and makeup, my child life specialist who made every clinic visit less stressful, and PCFLV, which helped my siblings understand what was happening and made all of my hospital stays less boring and less traumatic.

Written by Madi

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip