Saturday, February 04, 2012

Mark Hunter

Mark Hunter was still a teenager when his doctor told him that there was cancer in his bones. That diagnosis put Mark's life on a new path. He began taking chemotherapy treatments at 17 years old for osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. He was scared and unsure about his future.

"I didn?t know a lot about chemotherapy or how it worked," Mark said. "I was pretty scared because it all happened at once."

Though he was nearing his 18th birthday, Mark was treated by the same physicians and nurses who treat the youngest cancer patients.

"I have a lot of great memories from the staff. They would do anything that they could to comfort me when I was in there," he said. "They took the extra time out to sit and make me feel comforted by joking with me, talking to me and just making an experience that really wasn't very pleasurable one that I will always enjoy having."

Mark's cancer was diagnosed before the Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center opened on the campus of Cabell Huntington Hospital, but the staff that treated Mark now works with children and young adults just like him in the pediatric oncology unit there.

"I know cancer can be a very devastating illness. However, I personally wouldn't change a thing even if I could," he said. "It has made me stronger, by far, and I am a much better person because of the experience of having cancer. The only advice that I could give to the friends, family and people affected by cancer is that anything in life ever worth fighting for is never easy. Trust in God and your prayers will be met."

Mark is now 21 years old and said he is grateful for his treatment experience at Cabell Huntington Hospital.