A badge of honor
McNulty and Risko (left to right, in photo below), with stuffed animals that the girls used as security blankets during chemotherapy. "I've forgiven cancer for the most part for what it's done," says Risko (at left in the above photo, with McNulty and Lines). "If I didn't have cancer I wouldn't be me."
Cancer often becomes part of someone's lifelong identity, and for these friends it is influencing their career ambitions as well. All three have overcome learning disabilities to pursue their passions. McNulty graduated from Wheelock College in Boston last spring with a degree in childhood development and is pursuing a master's degree in special education from Bridgewater (Mass.) State College. Risko is graduating from Bridgewater State this spring with a bachelor's degree in sociology and wants to be a hospital psychologist or sign language interpreter.
"There's a reason I got cancer," states Risko. "I know I'm meant to do something with my experience."
Lines graduated from Curry College in Milton, Mass., in 2006 with honors after transitioning out of the school's program for students with disabilities and into mainstream classes. Now attending Regis College in Weston, Mass., for a graduate degree in event planning and management, she credits her field choice to her ALL. "Because of my experience with cancer, of being in control of nothing, I now want to plan everything."
Last year, she organized a benefit concert with a friend's band that raised money for cancer research. She also gave a speech to a crowd of roughly 200 about her experience with childhood leukemia, something she says she would never have been able to do before.
Some recent research is identifying a positive attitude shift for many childhood cancer survivors, according to Andrea Patenaude, PhD, who studies psychosocial issues in cancer genetics and survivorship at Dana-Farber. Some childhood survivors wear their status as a badge of honor and feel strengthened by their ability to overcome the disease.
For Risko, this couldn't be truer. "I'm intent on kicking cancer's butt. It deserves it. If I get cancer again, fine, let's go."
Even with their busy schedules of classes, family, and dating, the women find time to raise money for cancer research and volunteer as counselors at Camp Sunshine (another facility for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families) in Maine.
"I'm very grateful having Laura and Sarah in my life. As much as they drive me crazy, I still love them. They are my life," says Lines. "No matter what happens, we'll always be best friends."
