Although pink seems to be the predominant color for cancer awareness in October, a rainbow of cancer awareness stretches across eight other months.

All types of cancer touch people’s lives on a daily basis. Thirty-six percent of the student body said its immediate family has been stricken with some type of cancer. These experiences with cancer have changed lives.

“Cancer made me realize that anything can be taken

away,” senior Brock Tittle said about his mother’s breast cancer. “It made me realize how fragile life is.”

His mother is now cancer-free.

“It has really made me look at life differently,” Tittle said. “It made me appreciate my health and my ability to play sports.”

Junior Caleb Koedyker’s mother is currently in the reconstruction stage after having cancer treatments.

“Cancer has affected my life in many ways,” Koedyker said. “One thing is for sure–my relationship with God has strengthened.”

Koedyker uses a self-help technique during tough times.

“When it gets hard, I give my problems to God,” Koedyker said. “I just pray.”

Koedyker’s point of view has changed since his mom was diagnosed with cancer.

“I don’t take a day for granted anymore,” Koedyker said. “I live up every moment.”

For junior Karly Pitcox, cancer was a first-hand experience. She was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma during her freshman year.

“It started out with leg cramps,” Pitcox said. “I couldn’t even walk for a few days.”

Pitcox went to a Midland cancer hospital.

“After we found out, there were tears and confusion,” Pitcox said. “They wanted to fly me to Austin…but my grandma said, ‘No, you’re going to MD Anderson’.”

With her doctor’s referral to MD Anderson, Pitcox went through a week of tests until the doctors located the tumor. She went back to Houston to begin a harrowing experience filled with biopsies, PET scans, port placements, CAT scans and MRI’s. Tests showed she had a baseball-sized tumor located in the right pelvic region. The tumor was cancerous but was not in her bones as most sarcomas are. She withdrew from SHS, becoming a resident at MD Anderson as she went through chemotherapy. This treatment made her sensitive to the sight and smell of food.

“I experienced motion sickness for the first time,” Pitcox said. “I couldn’t eat for days. I was malnourished.”

For Pitcox, the sickness wasn’t the hardest part. That came after the fifth treatment.

“The most traumatizing thing that happened was losing my hair,” Pitcox said. “My hair started falling out in clumps.”

Pitcox held onto her hair as long as she could, then she had her head shaved.

“It wasn’t even hair anymore,” Pitcox said. “It felt like hay. Shaving my head was the lowest point of my experience.”

According to Pitcox, friends and family helped her when she was feeling depressed.

“I had never felt so self-conscious in my life,” Pitcox said. “People started sending hats; it was awesome. Everyone complimented me, and I started feeling better.”

Pitcox is now cancer-free. She joins the many who “Had it. Fought it. Survived it.”

Junior Kayla Coon’s brother Ryan is another cancer survivor having had a brain tumor when he was two. Her great-grandmother died from cancer.

“It took away my great-grandmother and has given me a greater respect for my brother,” Coon said. “It made me more greatful for what I have.”

The realities of cancer and the possibility of dying hit home as Pitcox made friends among the other patients like…

“…Daniel was good for the soul. He was blunt. He had the most random stuff with him…a bottle of Tabasco Sauce…”

“…Zoe was born in Puerto Rico. She was reserved and quiet until she started talking about something she liked…We would talk to the nurses about cute celebrities…”

“…Keaton knew what I was going through. He had a huge love for animals and kids…”

“…Maria was eight from Ecuador…She had what I had. We were on the same chemo schedule…We always saw each other around…”

All four of those friends have passed away since Pitcox was treated.

“I’m constantly going back to Houston…I had cancer, and no one–not even my mother–truly understands,” Pitcox said. “The big issue now isn’t that I had cancer or that my friends had cancer; it’s that they’re gone.”

Losing a family member to cancer is something freshman Matthew Webb has had to learn to deal with after his grandmother, former SHS video tech instructor Janet Webb, died of breast cancer a year ago.

“It’s kind of empty around the house here lately,” Webb said. “But we get along. You have to stay strong and be supportive of your family. No matter what happens, try to get along.”

Getting along after cancer, personally or with a family member, leaves one forever changed. For survivors like Pitcox, adjusting is an everyday struggle.

“It’s hard going back to everyday life…,” Pitcox said. “No one ever knows what to say, and that’s hard.”

No two stories are the same when victims and their families suffer from cancer. The experiences, like the rainbow of cancer types and awareness programs, stretch across all boundaries. Survivors like Pitcox know that cancer is the great equalizer.

“I always tell people ‘Never say it’s not going to happen to you’,” Pitcox said.