Maggie

• 21 years old
• Mississippi
• Ewing sarcoma

An ambitious college student with a packed schedule, Maggie had only a couple of weeks off between the end of her spring semester and the beginning of her summer study program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 2010. Getting picked for the program at St. Jude had been an honor. As a chemistry major planning to pursue a medical degree, Maggie was thrilled.

But Maggie had a few things to do. She needed an MRI to determine the cause of a nagging leg pain — no big deal. But when she learned the results she was devastated: Maggie had cancer. The next time she entered St. Jude, it would be as a patient, not as a student.

“I started weeping,” says Maggie. “I was very dramatic and out of control. I kind of had a panic attack in there.”

Maggie had Ewing sarcoma, small, round cell tumors that arise either in bone or soft tissues. Maggie's was located in her right tibia and surrounding soft tissue. At St. Jude, Maggie began receiving chemotherapy and underwent surgery to remove the tumor-ravaged bone. Her tibia was replaced with a metal rod, and once she recovered, she began physical therapy to help her gain strength and mobility. Her chemotherapy continued for several months afterward.

To keep herself busy while she went through treatment, Maggie wrote and took guitar lessons, learned how to cook, and began learning Japanese from a St. Jude fellow. Still, she says, there were times when she had to work hard to overcome the physical effects of chemotherapy.

Maggie is grateful for her care team at St. Jude. And as strange as it may sound, she has happy memories of the hospital. “St. Jude is not a place of mourning,” Maggie says. “It's a happy, positive place full of people all going through the same thing. And every doctor, every nurse, every person behind a desk is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.” Maggie has finished treatment and is continuing her college studies.