Nathan Sanders
Nathan Sanders
In the spring of 2008, at 23 years old, I was injured in the groin while wrestling; “No big deal the swelling will go down” I kept telling myself. After a few months, the swelling and pain became too much to bear so I went to get checked out. My doctor sent me to a general surgeon the next day; after a blood test and while waiting for a scan, the surgeon called with those dreaded words, “you have cancer.” I couldn’t believe it. Completely devastated, all I could do was pray. My advice is, don’t do as I did, but at the first sign of trouble go immediately to your doctor to get checked out.
My oncologist at Northside Hospital found that the cancer had spread throughout my abdomen and into my lungs making it stage 3 cancer. After surgery and four cycles of chemo, I was finally on the road to recovery. At the time, I was not employed at Delta, but my dad, Steve, was. His co-workers and other Delta people rallied around my family offering financial, physical, and spiritual support. They even purchased confirmed seats for me and my parents to fly to Indiana for RPLND surgery to remove affected lymph nodes surrounding my kidney and up my spine. I won’t ever be able to thank them enough.
About 10 months after the injury I was finally able to return to work. Two months later I went for a checkup and found that the cancer in my abdomen and lungs was no longer in remission. I was devastated facing several more rounds of chemo and then two stem cell transplants, but I never lost faith. The prayers of friends and family around the world and the outpouring of love and support my family received was incredibly uplifting.
The road was hard and recovery was long. If it was not for my faith and love for Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, the advances in cancer research, and being blessed with great doctors I would not be here. Many prayers were answered around the world and I was able to witness many miracles during my battle.