Cancer diagnosis helps Pittsburgh-area high schooler find new perspective on life
NEW CASTLE, Pa. (KDKA) — For Shenango High School senior Elyse Lenhart, volleyball is a sport she loves and few things, including cancer, can stop her from playing.
It was last spring when Lenhart was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma after she felt several bumps around her neck. Most people would be reeling from such a diagnosis and while Lenhart admits to feeling sad and distort at first, she said the support she's received from the community has lifted her higher than she ever thought possible.
"The support of this area, of the volleyball team, and of my school, it's just overwhelming," said Lenhart. "It's so overwhelming that I feel so loved, and that really just brings my spirits up."
Lenhart could have easily thrown in the towel on her senior year to focus on her 12 chemotherapy treatments, but she said she didn't want her volleyball career to end that way. Instead, she has tackled seven chemo treatments so far, and she's stayed on the court to help her team.
Shenago's head volleyball coach Greg Dugan said that Lenhart is one of his best players and she hasn't missed a serve this season.
"She scheduled the chemotherapy around volleyball," Dugan said. "If it was scheduled for Thursday and we have a Thursday game, she'd have the chemotherapy on Friday."
Dugan also said that playing volleyball for Lenhart is this teen's oasis, where nothing else matters except her team and the game.
"Once she steps on the court, everything's forgotten," said Dugan. "It's getting on the court, and she wants to be with her teammates. She wants to play the game and just completely forget about everything that is going on outside the gym."
Despite her initial diagnosis, Lenhart feels that her health setback has merely made her stronger. Her prognosis from her recent tests is good and she is optimistic for the future. Above all though, she said she is grateful to her friends, family, community and for everything in her life.
"This whole diagnosis has just brought a new view into my life," said Lenhart. "Instead of being like, 'Oh my gosh, I have to get out of bed this morning,' it's like, 'I get to get out of bed this morning.'"