At a very young
age, Sean Shearon began the fight of his life.
One morning in
December of 1977, Sean noticed a small lump in the muscle above
his right collarbone while he was getting ready for school.
Although it was not painful, his parents took him to the doctor
the very next day. Sean was then referred to a surgeon and the
tumor was removed that Friday morning. Biopsy results showed
that the tumor was malignant and Sean was diagnosed with
cancer (Rhabdomyosarcoma). He was 12 years old. Following the diagnosis, Sean
faced an extraordinary routine to combat cancer. Doctors at the
Windsor Regional Cancer Center, in conjunction with specialists
in pediatric oncology at Children’s Hospital in Detroit,
composed a program of 30 radiation treatments and 2 years of
chemotherapy. Sean had severe reactions to the injections and
was often unable to consume anything other than water for up to
six days at a time. However, after finishing each interval of
chemo, Sean quickly bounced back until the next round of
treatment. With the difficult first six months behind him,
Sean’s dad encouraged him to sign up for hockey in the fall of
1978. With no hair as a result of the treatments, Sean took joy
in the freedom from his hairpiece that hockey provided. Under
his helmet, Sean was just another kid playing hockey instead of
a 13-year-old kid with cancer and no hair.
With the help
of his parents, Sean became determined to lead a normal life, as
normal as possible given the circumstances. His family was
accustomed to dealing with cancer – his mother had been
diagnosed with breast cancer in 1975, and had finished
chemotherapy just a few months before Sean was diagnosed.
Through long conversations with his parents about his
circumstances, Sean decided to face his cancer with a positive
attitude. Sean’s mother was also able to share with him her
insights from her own experience with cancer. “Thinking about
death is for those who are dying, but you are alive, so think
about living and put those thoughts into action,” she said. And
Sean did.
By February of
1980, Sean had completed chemotherapy. Although he was looking
forward to putting cancer behind him, he was faced with yet
another challenge. In July of the same year, a simple chest
x-ray led doctors to believe that a tumor had developed on
Sean’s right lung, below where the original tumor had been
removed. While his classmates were busy with the first day of
class in the 10th grade, he was preparing to undergo
yet another surgery. Later, a biopsy revealed that what was
thought to be another tumor was actually scar tissue resulting
from radiation therapy. During that same summer, Sean’s mother
was diagnosed with cancer for a second time. Her breast cancer
now had spread to other parts of her body. While Sean survived
his second cancer scare, his mother did not. Bette Shearon
battled her cancer for four more years until her death in 1984.
At 18, Sean made a vow to his mother not to dwell on the past,
but to live with positive thoughts and actions. He went on to
university to study history and later became a teacher, like his
father, Jim. Sean’s experiences have transformed him into the
person he is today. Everyday he aspires to live with the
optimism of a child, to approach life with a fresh perspective,
despite the trials of life. Sean promised himself that he would
always remember all of the important life lessons he learned,
the people who supported him through very dark times, and the
other patients he met along the way.
Today, Sean not
only remembers those people, but will honor them in a very
special way. Sean has decided to walk the equivalent of one
marathon each day for 18 consecutive days (approximately 475
miles) through Michigan to raise money for breast cancer research
at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. By
walking, Sean hopes to help inspire others and also raise money
for a cure. His “Victory Walk” is a celebration of his own life
that will shine a light for others facing cancer and help them
find what they need to achieve their own victory.
