CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Every day in the United States, 42 kids are diagnosed with cancer.
That's why every day at Driscoll Children's Hospital feels like a blessing, because at any moment, your life can be flipped upside-down. Like for Jose Lopez, a patient we meet in this story who always tries to see the brighter side of things.
Jose likes to go by Junior.
"I like soccer and singing music," said Junior.
He's 14-years-old. He's been an oncology patient at DCH for two years now, but knows it's not forever.
"We're kids and we still have a life ahead of us," Junior added.
He's a 'glass half-full' type of guy, but said the reality of being in the hospital, he misses out on things.
"Don't take life for granted. Like family. I don't get to see my siblings a lot because I'm here."
Dr. Farha Sherani is a Pediatric Oncologist at DCH.
"In the 1960s, cure rates were somewhere about 35 percent to 40 percent depending on which type of tumor you had, and as of 2022, our cure rates are along the line of 85 percent," said Dr. Sherani.
And sometimes that 85 percent comes back. This time to say thank you.
"And tell us 'now we're in high school and next year, I'm applying to college,' and some of our kids come back and say "now we're pregnant and having kids of our own!" It's such a pleasure to follow kids after the journey," she added.
She said with more awareness surrounding cancer in children, comes more support and resources.
For Junior, he plans on being an oncologist when he grows up.
"My diagnoses," he added, "I want to work with kids that are going through the same thing I'm going through."
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