Cancer can change nearly every part of a child’s world. School can look different. Friendships can change. Favorite activities may be put on hold. Days that once revolved around practices, games, hobbies, and hanging out with friends and family can often shift focus to appointments, treatments, hospital stays, and uncertainty.
But childhood cancer is more than a diagnosis, and recovery often means more than completing treatments.
As Childhood Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, we reflect on the healing that takes place outside of the hospital—what happens when a child rediscovers the things they love, builds friendships, begins feeling like themselves again, and knows they have an entire team supporting them through the good times and the bad.
For Bennett, it was self-confidence.
Bennett was 15 years old when he began experiencing debilitating migraines and doctors found a fast-growing tumor, called medulloblastoma, in his brain. Bennett’s mom, Amanda remembers how quickly their world shifted. “As a mom fighting daily to keep her son alive, our everyday life lost all normalcy,” Amanda said. “One of my biggest hopes for Bennett was that he would gain self-confidence and self-advocacy, because the isolation of cancer treatments and severe neuropathy is unspeakable.”
The next year, when Bennett was matched with the University of Minnesota golf team, he and his family were deep in the trenches of his cancer journey. “We were tired,” Amanda said, “yet Coach Smith saw that, still upheld Bennett’s dignity, and welcomed him right into the pack.”
Amanda remembers how quickly the team helped Bennett focus less on the fear and uncertainty of his diagnosis and more on the joy and normalcy they helped provide. “On the very day Bennett found out [he was matched], we received messages from Coach Smith, Jack, and Kyler,” she said. “He was on cloud nine.”
With the team, Bennett found confidence, support, friendships, laughter, and his love of golf again. “My favorite thing about being a member on the U of M golf team is the friendships I have made, which will be lifelong,” Bennett said. “The people I’ve meant and the coaches are amazing.”
One of the most unexpectedly meaningful moments came when the team visited Bennett at the golf store where he works and invited him to go to Chick-fil-A with them. Amanda and Bennett both hesitated at the idea of him doing something so independently, but Amanda could tell Bennett really wanted to go with his team. Even outside of his comfort zone, Bennett wanted to be with his teammates, so he went. “I drove home with the biggest smile I’d had in 10 months, in tears too,” Amanda said, “knowing those moments are just as impactful as a round of treatment.”
Treatments for Bennett were often full of dread and fear. But a simple text from a teammate or words of encouragement from coach could turn his whole day around. “I truly cannot name all of the ways they have helped Bennett, myself, and his sisters,” Amanda said. “They are too humble to think they could be part of something so big, but I witnessed a young man receiving Snapchat messages from his teammates right as we drove into the hospital parking lot for overnight chemo stays. He would be dreading it and experiencing severe anxiety, and a quick text or photo from one of the boys—perhaps just saying, ‘Thinking of you, Bennett. Let me know when you get in,’—would completely change his mindset. That was something neither I nor anyone else could do, but those boys could.”
Outside of the hospital, the golf team supports Bennett through his journey in every way they can. They attend benefit events not only in Bennett’s immediate community but also in their city and across southeast Minnesota. They give back through Bennett’s advocacy project. They created golf swag that Amanda said sold out before it even hit the floor, “driven entirely by his teammates.”
Prior to his diagnosis, Bennett, who has always loved golf, grew frustrated with the sport as the tumor he didn’t know was growing in his brain inhibited his gross motor skills and his ability to play the sport he loves. “Above all,” Amanda said, “they helped him remember that he loves golf and that golf is not something to be angry at.”
Today, Amanda sees a confidence in Bennett that wasn’t there before. “The team lives by the saying Ski-U-Mah, which means greatness isn’t just found on the field—it is found in life, and your character should be held high everywhere. I know the coaches model and expect that of those men,” she said. “They work hard and they play hard, and we shared great laughs and big hugs with them. Seeing Bennett’s initial hesitation—just hearing about it as a possibility—turn into the bursting confidence of walking through his high school hallway with no notable signs other than being a warrior… that is where I see how far he has come from the beginning to now.”
“I am deeply indebted to those men,” Amanda said. “They acted as if it were nothing, but they were truly part of something extraordinary. They undoubtedly contributed to his successful recovery, every single one of them. It is both profound and hard to articulate how much this impact allowed Bennett to reach the state he is in now: cancer-free.”
Bennett’s sentiment echoes his mom’s. “They help me support by giving me wishes and positive energy, which means the most.”
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For Bella, it was hope in what comes next.
Fourteen-year-old Bella joined the University of Arizona softball team after completing her last chemotherapy treatment. At 12 years old, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, in her right leg. “Bella is a strong, creative, and caring person. You can always catch her laughing and smiling,” her mom, Jacqueline, said. But with her cancer diagnosis and treatment, Jacqueline saw some of this fade a little in her daughter. “Seeing Bella be a part of the U of A softball team has been more than I could imagine. They have helped her build back her confidence and have helped push her through her toughest days.”
As Bella and her family entered a new chapter—life after cancer treatment—they were full of excitement and uncertainty in the unknown. But with the softball team by their side, they knew they had the additional support Bella needed to continue working toward her goals. The team understood that Bella’s journey was a process and that her recovery continued long after treatment, and they were there to help her through it all. “They have encouraged her to continue pursuing her goal of playing softball one day. They have shared their stories of injuries and how important physical therapy was during their recovery. They have helped Bella believe that if she works hard enough, she can accomplish anything she wants even becoming as active as she was before cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Jacqueline shared.
Over everything, the team continually shows up. They text Bella encouraging words during check-ups and doctors’ appointments. They honored her during Team IMPACT Night, where she threw out the first pitch. They welcomed her younger sister, too, understanding that childhood cancer affects the entire family. They make sure she knows she belongs. “On her toughest days,” Jacqueline shared, “just going to a practice or game would lift her spirits back up.”
One very special memory for Bella and Jacqueline emphasized how much the team really knows Bella and supports her interests. Bella is a big fan of Arizona football. She loves watching games, and her favorite player is quarterback Noah Fafita. “They set up for her to meet Noah, and he gave her a tour of the football facility,” Jacqueline shared. “Bella was so happy and grateful for the experience. The team will never know how much they have been a part of Bella’s recovery.”
Bella’s journey with the team seemed to mirror her physical recovery. When Bella first met the team, her hair had not yet grown back from her treatments. She almost always wore a hoodie to cover her head. Jacqueline knew Bella felt truly comfortable and accepted by her teammates when she stopped wearing her hoodie, no longer caring if her teammates saw her with her head uncovered.
When first matched with the team, Bella was using a wheelchair. Over time, she began participating more in practices, eventually now leading drills and practicing throwing different pitches.
One of Bella’s favorite memories is having lunch with the team before practice and simply catching up about life. For Bella, those everyday moments mattered. “I loved how I had so much in common with most of the girls!” Bella said. “I’ve met so many new friends that I’m glad that I have met and been a part of their life.”
Jacqueline knows these are friendships and lessons Bella will carry with her forever. “Prior to joining the team, I saw Bella very unsure about what was next now that she had finished her cancer treatment,” she recalled. “Joining the team helped give Bella the confidence she needed to continue in her recovery and pursue goals she has for herself. They helped her see again the good things in life and that she deserves to continue her life and be happy.”
“I really appreciate each and every one of them for being a part of my journey,” Bella said.
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For Colin, it was about showing up.
“When you first meet Colin, he can be shy and introverted,” his mom, Elizabeth, said, “but he is quite a funny kid who has a great sense of humor, is quite competitive, and loves games, reading, and hanging out with his brother, Owen.”
It did not take long for the University of Virginia tennis team to learn this about Colin. But it wasn’t always easy for Colin to feel comfortable in his own skin. At just five years old, Colin was diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (PH-ALL), a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. After finishing initial treatments in 2020, Colin’s cancer returned in 2021 and again in 2023. That same year, he was matched with the tennis team at the University of Virginia.
Slowly but surely, Elizabeth watched Colin come out of his shell around the team. And slowly but surely, Colin began to return to himself. “When I am asked about how the team has supported Colin through treatment, it brings me to tears,” Elizabeth said, “because they have quite simply shown up.”
Colin’s teammates check in. They come to his soccer games. They visit him in the hospital to play video games before infusions. They surprise him at home. They invite him to play board and video games. They celebrate birthdays and treatment anniversaries. Colin’s best buddy on the team, Stef, took Colin to the planetarium, because he knew Colin would love it. The team wears Colin’s wristbands during matches. They include him in so many team dinners. They invited him to the National Championship—and they won. “They distract him while providing support,” Elizabeth said. “All of this just further solidifies and reinforces their friendships.”
“We are always hanging out and playing games,” Colin added, “and they make me laugh, which is always the best distraction.”
Colin has struggled with anxiety around IV placements and certain appointments. As his treatments and check-ups continue, the pokes and prods become more complicated as he loses more “good” veins. “But his ability to cope with his has improved immensely,” Elizabeth said. Colin no longer tries to run away or avoid treatments. Instead, he accepts what needs to be done and channels his teammates for strength. “He has vocally said that being with the team has helped him with his anxiety,” Elizabeth shared. Socializing with the team has made it easier for him to go back to school and be a middle schooler. “He had the confidence to sit at a new lunch table and make new friends that he stayed with for the rest of the school year,” Elizabeth said. “This type of difference means everything to a parent.”
Colin’s favorite part of being on the UVA tennis team? “Everything,” he said.
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Bennett, Bella, and Colin’s stories are different. Their diagnoses, treatments, teams, and experiences are unique. But there is a common thread connecting them all: a team of support can make all the difference.
For families navigating childhood cancer, those moments can truly mean everything.