July 9, 2021 was the day my life changed. The massive headaches that split my skull every morning had been a clue, but the words “you have brain cancer” still struck deep. Five days before my 17th birthday, biopsy results showed that I had a germinoma and my oncologist put me on a chemotherapy regimen consisting of 6 cycles. Toward the end of my chemotherapy, noticing how isolated kids felt, I designed an app for pediatric cancer patients to connect with each other and was introduced to a doctor at the Sungkyunkwan University Smart Health Lab to further refine the idea.
Afterward, I returned to high school for my senior year and was accepted to Yale University, only to discover a new lesion in my brain immediately after graduation. My new treatment regimen contained 6 higher-dose cycles followed by radiation. During this time, I decided to work as an intern at the same doctor’s lab, developing new mindfulness games and systems to help children get accustomed to the hospital. However, blood testing on the second-to-last day of radiation revealed that the tumor marker was elevated beyond the standard range.
My diagnosis was changed to a mixed germ cell tumor. My oncologist started me on new treatment protocols, both of which failed to slow the growth. The oncologists stated they had nothing more to offer, so my mom and I made the decision to switch to treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. They started me on a new treatment protocol and I received two consecutive stem cell transplants followed by the maximum amount of radiation possible.
Seungheon’s LifeList:
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Meta Quest 3 VR headset
- Ray-Ban Meta Sunglasses