Guest Post: A Survivor-to-Survivor Interview
Cierra Morgan is a University of Southern California senior studying journalism and health and human sciences. She’s guest blogging for Children’s Cancer Cause in the fall of 2024 as part of a course internship.
“I plan to pursue journalism and a law career. But for now, I love what the average 21-year-old girl loves: shopping, traveling, and having a good time with my friends. I also had childhood cancer myself, which is why working with Children’s Cancer Cause is even more special to me.”
As I continue my guest blog series for Children’s Cancer Cause, I’ve been going straight to the source and talking directly with others who’ve been impacted by childhood cancer. Now I’m turning those stories into posts to share what I’ve learned and help raise awareness about different types of cancers, experiences, and struggles.
This post is about 23 year old Michael Albrecht. He’s from Seattle, Washington, and he shared with me his battle with childhood cancer that began with his diagnosis of stage 3 Ewing sarcoma when he was 14 years old.
Michael, during treatment as a teenager
“Oh, when is this going away?”
Ewring scaroma is a rare type of bone or soft tissue cancer that primarily affects children and young adults. Although the cause of Ewing sarcoma is unknown, Michael likes to cheekily tell people he got cancer by square dancing: “I got hit in the leg during square dancing, and I had this big bump. Over time I was like, ‘oh, when is this going away?’”
After living with the bump for a while, Michael went to multiple doctors. They told him to put heat on it. Then to put ice on it. After a while, he noticed the bump was “kind of moving” and then eventually started to get bigger and effect how he was walking.
At the time, Michael had an upcoming Europe trip, and he was getting concerned about the bump growing in size. He decided to visit a different doctor who did new testing on him and his bump. The doctors came back with two pieces of paper saying that his diagnosis was either Ewing sarcoma or osteosarcoma.
“My whole word was upended,” Michael said after being told he had cancer. Ultimately, the doctors found that he had Ewing sarcoma, and he began treatment right away.
“I am still fighting, hence my pretty shiny head. It’s been nine years.”
Michael received treatment at Seattle Children’s Hospital. After undergoing chemotheraphy and a bone graft in his left tibia, he was considered cancer free.
He remained cancer-free for about three years until he relapsed in 2019 - during his senior year of high school.
“It meant no prom and no award ceremonies,” Michael said. He was disappointed that during this time all his hard work in school would fail to get recognition, especially his award for being a presidential scholar.
But Michael rallied his spirits by making his own celebrations.
“I had my own prom that was covered in my local media, and I made my local news…because I had my own ceremony for the presidential scholar at the US Department of Education office in Seattle,” he told me.
After his relapse, Michael discovered that - much like raising a child - it takes a village to get through cancer treatment. He received an immense amount of support from family and friends.
He’d need all that support: In 2021, he relapsed for a third time.
This time around, he underwent an autologous stem cell transplant, or auto transplant, where his healthy stem cells were taken from his blood and bone marrow and were used to replace his damanged or dieased bone marrow.
“It was like hell, it was the most sick I’ve ever been,” he said.
Today, Michael is still fighting - after a fourth relapse last year. His cancer is stable as of right now.
“Something beautiful did happen.”
During our interview, Michael talked about the impact of the pandemic, describing it as an incredibly isolating time.
He started to attend the University of Seattle, but he eventually dropped out because he felt that neither the stress nor the money was worth it to attend university during the pandemic.
There was a bright spot during this time, though. He met his now fiancé Brian in 2020.
Just six months after meeting Brian, Michael relapsed again. He told Brian he’d understand if he broke things off. Cancer’s not a normal thing to be facing as a young adult in a new relationship.
“That night, he moved in with me at my parents’ house. We’ve been together ever since, which is just fantastic.”
“Take care of yourself mentally.”
Michael mused that it’s really interesting being diagnosed with childhood cancer and then relapsing in young adulthood because roles shift dramatically. As a child, your parents are your caregivers. As an adult, you may have a partner or caregiving support, but it’s really a personal responsibilty to handle all the billing and treatments on your own. This is one of the difficult parts of childhood cancer that survivors have to go through. The transition of care can be scary and uncomfortable at times, but it’s a necessary part of growing up.
Michael has bold advice for adolescents and young adults with cancer or those navigating survivorship into young adulthood: “Don’t worry so much about the future. I was really pushing myself in all of high school and college and really stressing myself out. Instead of just being so set on ‘this is how things are going to be,’ just be more flexible. Relax more. Take care of yourself mentally, because that's what matters in life.”
He also emphasizes the important of accepting help when it’s offered. “People want to give you help. Take it with gratitude. And really be appreciative when people do help.”
Michael is passionate about mental health and encouraged to see that more healthcare providers are emphasizing its importance. He shared that he is going to start seeing a psychiatrist to help stay mentally healthy because he’s realized he’s been getting increasingly stressed lately.
“It’s important to be in tune with your body and know what you’re feeling,” physically and mentally.
“Embrace the unknown.”
There have been a lot of twists and turns for Michael through his cancer journey, and this has taught him that nothing in life is linear. There will always be a surprise around the corner, but the best way to face that surprise is to embrace it and turn it into something positive.
Michael today is “involved in local politics, and I take my dog to the dog park every day. We're gonna start agility training soon. I try to keep my day busy with things that are meaningful to me.”
That’s his best advice to a childhood cancer patient or survivor: “Fill your day up with things that you value and that give you purpose.”