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His mom was just 18 when Gerardo Cantu Hernandez was first diagnosed with cancer — bilateral retinoblastoma. He was 4 months old at the time.

She would often have to drive from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston for weekly and bi-weekly appointments to ensure her son had the best care possible.

“Thankfully I got the treatment that I needed thanks to her making that sacrifice to travel to Houston at such a young age,” Gerardo said.

This, however, was just the start of his journey.

In 2016 at just 14-years-old, the San Juan native was diagnosed with osteosarcoma after he began to feel pain in his right knee.

He recalled having swelling in his right knee that would cause him to limp.

Due to his age and the amount of walking he did at school, doctors initially believed it was due to growing pains.

However, one day the pain was so severe that he was unable to walk.

After conducting X-rays, doctors found a tumor in his right knee that was touching his tibia and fibula.

Gerardo received chemotherapy between the ages of 14 and 15 and completed the treatment a month after his birthday.

He recalled spending much of his time in the hospital surrounded by nurses, certified nursing assistants, activity directors and other medical staff that became a constant in his life.

“They didn’t feel like nurses, they felt like a family because I was with them literally every other day,” Gerardo said, adding that he was receiving chemotherapy every week.

During his time receiving treatment, Gerardo met people his age going through similar experiences. He recalled making a friend during his treatment who he bonded with during their time in the activity room.

Unfortunately, his friend died due to the disease.

“That was a little taxing on my mental health and psychologically because as a child when you lose a friend, (you think) well if they couldn’t make it then does this mean that you might not be able to make it too,” Gerardo said.

This was among the motivating factors for Gerardo to live his life to his full potential.

For the next three years Gerardo, now 23, was cancer-free. That is until one day in 2019 he began to feel a severe headache in the back of his head.

He recalled playing video games late at night with friends when his headache continued to get worse. He tried sleeping it off but could not find a comfortable position due to how extreme the pain was.

His mom rushed him to an emergency room where he got an X-ray that revealed he had a tumor in the back of his skull.

Gerardo had cancer again.

Not wanting to relive the experience he had while going through chemotherapy at 14 due to how taxing the treatment can be, Gerardo chose to get the tumor surgically removed.

Tumors in the skull, however, can be difficult to remove surgically due to it potentially protruding into the membrane and touching the brain.

Gerardo counts himself lucky because his tumor had not touched his brain.

He explained that if the tumor had touched any portion of his brain he would’ve lost all feeling on the left side of his body.

The tumor was successfully removed.

“I feel like I can say that I’m lucky because with every diagnosis I got the better hand of the diagnosis,” Gerardo said. “I feel like I’m just fortunate enough to get the better half of an unfortunate situation.”

Although Gerardo faced many challenges he always found something to keep him motivated. After losing his friend and seeing others lose their battle to cancer, Gerardo felt it was necessary for him to push himself to keep moving forward.

“I just feel like if I survived it’s for a reason and I want to make sure that I don’t just throw away the opportunity that I was given by winning my battle three times,” Gerardo said.

After everything he had gone through Gerardo decided to pursue a career in nursing and joined the South Texas College nursing program.

Among his inspirations was “Nurse Jaime,” a nurse from Vannie E. Cook who has been by Gerardo’s side since the beginning of his journey.

Gerardo was among the first patients at Vannie Cook, which opened its doors in 2001 — the same year he received his first diagnosis at just 4 months old.

For Gerardo, seeing Jaime grow as a nurse … “and still 23 years later going strong and treating every patient that comes through that door with the respect and dignity they deserve,” has been inspirational as well.

Another inspiration was his nurse at DHR Health that he met during his chemotherapy. She was a Canadian travel nurse, who he knew as “Nurse Baldeep,” who showed him the different career paths in nursing he could pursue.

He also added that while taking on nursing school at STC there were professors who helped motivate him in the moments he doubted himself.

“They kept me afloat and reassured me and gave me the extra help and drive to continue my career in nursing,” Gerardo said, adding that he is grateful for every person who supported him throughout his journey.

On May 10, he graduated from STC with an associate’s degree in Nursing.

As a first generation college graduate, Gerardo felt that his graduation wasn’t just a momentous occasion for him but also for his family.

Stepping onto that stage to receive his diploma gave him a sense of fulfillment as he saw his goal of carving his own path coming to fruition. Although both parents were very proud of him, Gerardo knew that his mom was the one who felt the most overwhelmed as she saw her son walk the stage.

She was there with him through every diagnosis, treatment, doctor’s appointment and even helped him enroll in college.

“She was with me when she was sick, exhausted or just in any condition that she was, she was always there,” Gerardo said. “So, I believe that her finally seeing her little baby walk the stage and everything she went through and sacrificed to finally pay off. I feel like it was definitely such a rewarding experience for her.”

The post ‘I survived for a reason’: San Juan nurse, a three-time cancer survivor, turns experience into expertise appeared first on MyRGV.com.