On December 27, 2019, after two and a half hours and 1,002 stairs, I summited what I thought would be the biggest bridge I would ever climb: the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Less than a week later, I was tasked with summiting an even bigger bridge. I found out that I had just climbed to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge with stage four cancer-a two-pound, Wilms’ tumor the size of a football-attached to my left kidney and spreading to my lungs, liver, and heart.

Prior to my cancer diagnosis, I had a crippling fear of hospitals, needles, and even swallowing pills. My cancer diagnosis immediately trivialized all of those fears. I had to summon strength to summit a bridge much higher than the one I had climbed in Sydney. After 335 days, thirty-three chemo treatments, thirteen radiation sessions, two surgeries, and one isolating and terrifying COVID-19 pandemic, I arrived at remission on December 3, 2020.

One of my biggest sources of support at the hospital were the Child Life Specialists, who helped me overcome my fears by walking me through procedures, bringing crafts to distract me and pass the time, and allowing me to walk the medical dogs, motivating me to get out of bed to do my physical therapy.

In 2021, I created a fundraiser called “Sit, Stay, Heal” to raise money for the Medical Dog Program, a subset of the Child Life Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado, as well as to spread awareness about the underfunding of childhood cancer research and the importance of donating blood products. I presented my story and campaign to my dad’s work team of 150 people, who participated in it as their volunteer time off. I have continued this fundraiser every year since, raising a total of $41,000 for the Child Life and Medical Dog Programs, allowing them to train and hire a new therapy dog dedicated specifically to the cancer floor and purchase new therapy resources for children and families in the hospital.

Since beginning college at UCLA in the fall, I have found new ways to continue giving back to the childhood cancer community. Through joining UCLA’s Bruins Fighting Pediatric Cancer Club (BFPC), I have been able to form friendships with fellow cancer survivors, advocate about the importance of pediatric cancer funding, help raise $11,000 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand foundation, and start volunteering in the Child Life Department at the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. While volunteering at the hospital, I have formed connections with patients and families, providing the same comfort to children that I valued during my cancer treatment.

I am not grateful for cancer, but I am grateful that having cancer has allowed me to discover strength I never knew I had, forced me to learn to prioritize myself and my health over all other things, and led me to an incredible community of fellow cancer survivors and advocates, many of whom I consider my closest friends. Cancer has allowed me to help others impacted by childhood cancer through fundraising, advocacy, and volunteering, which has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

Having conquered the two largest bridges l can imagine, I can’t help but wonder what is next for me. Fighting for my life has shown me who lam and given me the confidence to do anything I choose. I am planning to study cognitive science and am exploring different career paths. l am considering becoming a child life specialist or a pediatric occupational therapist, both of which will allow me to give back to the cancer community in a more direct way. Additionally, I am also considering pursuing marketing to learn skills that will help me further my advocacy and fundraising. Fueled with passion, I am optimistic that the next bridge I climb will be the one that allows me to help other people who, unwillingly, face the biggest bridges of their lives as well.