No matter your age, cancer is always difficult to understand – why it happened, how it’s affecting someone; there are an endless number of questions associated with the word. However, as a child, it’s even more difficult to comprehend what it is and what is happening to your loved one – a feeling that Howard High School student Hilary Albrecht is all too familiar with.
Hilary, now a sophomore, found out her father, Jon, was battling Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the young age of six years old. Being so young at the time, Hilary didn’t understand what the word cancer meant and how it would affect her father and her family. “I remember them sitting us down and telling us, but I didn’t know a lot about cancer, so I didn’t think anything of it,” said Hilary. While her father was taking chemotherapy treatments at Mayo Clinic, Hilary can recall not getting to see him a lot and his desire to be in a dark room and by himself after being sick from treatments. She also remembers how his appearance changed as his treatment and battle went on. “Of course his hair started to come out, so I remember my oldest sister got to shave his head… that was something fun we did and we just laughed. But it was just so different to see him without hair.”
Throughout this time, Hilary and her family faced many emotional ups and downs. Jon’s mom passed away unexpectedly, while he was still having treatments, but they also welcomed their youngest daughter, Elizabeth, to the family. As the family experienced joy and heartbreak, Hilary recalls how strong her mother was during this time for her family. “She would find ways to keep us together and have fun on our trips to Mayo. Later we found out that she cried every night, but she hid it so well. It’s hard to think about us not being there to help her.”
Today, Jon is healthy and continues to return to Mayo Clinic for follow-up tests. “Thinking back on it, if I did lose him…I wouldn’t have my hilarious, kind-hearted, crazy basketball-loving dad – the one that comes to all my games; gives me advice about everything,” said Hilary. “He just means the world to me.” The family did have a scare a couple years ago when one of Jon’s tests looked suspicious, but everything ended up clear. “You don’t really know what cancer can do to someone and the impact it has on their family. It’s really hard to go through and you don’t want other people to go through the same thing.”
As the Howard High School students join together to raise money and awareness through “Tigers Step Up 2 Cancer”, Hilary is just one of the many students who has experienced the wrath of cancer first hand and understands the importance of coming together as a community to support those fighting this disease. Today, Hilary remains thankful to have her father by her side supporting her and has chosen to step up and share her story and give advice to others who may be going through the same battle. “Don’t be afraid to talk about it… don’t hold it all in. Being open about it really helps ease the pain.”
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