Survivor Series

Caelainn Engelbrecht was just about to turn eleven when she was diagnosed with stage three cancer. “When I was 10, right before my 11th birthday, I was diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer, and I was treated at Advocate Children’s Hospital in …

Missy Long is a wife, a mother, a nurse, and a cancer survivor. “I was diagnosed in October of 2023 with breast cancer,” Long said. The cancer was stage 2 at the time of her diagnosis. She learned the news while she was with one of her children, and it …

19-year old Phoenix Bridegroom will be starting her freshman year at Ball State University this upcoming fall, but school is something she didn’t always have the opportunity to attend regularly. As a child, she battled leukemia multiple times and, as a …

Maryann Siniawski is a not one, not two, but a three-time cancer survivor. She was  first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 at 41 years old. The cancer came back  again in 2003 and after genetic testing showed she carries the BRCA2 …

Elizabeth Bessert remembers her childhood a bit differently than most. When Bessert was 3 years old, she, as many other children might, fell off a slide. However, unlike many other children, the pain persisted for three years. On October 10, 1997, at just 6 …

Sara Flores is a courageous cancer survivor who has faced her diagnosis with remarkable strength and resilience. She has leaned on her faith, family, and community for support throughout her journey. Her story is about hope, determination, and inspiring …

For Jacqueline Zepeda, her triumph over thyroid cancer is one that leads back to family, faith, and expert doctors. The symptoms that led Zepeda to start her search for an underlying condition were a storm of common signs. This list began with anxiety …

Jodi Scherwitz-Boling was diagnosed with cancer on May 7, 2024. However, her unwavering strength and determination have inspired everyone around her.  A dedicated nurse with 23 years of experience in the Neurotrauma Critical Care Unit, she has spent her …

Ashleigh Jett was born and raised in the small community of Lothian in Maryland. She came to Indiana after moving to Hammond around the time of her early teenage years. She graduated from Carmel High School near Indianapolis. She’s been a homemaker here in …

Undergoing radiation treatments for many is a difficult test of courage. For one woman in the Region, however, her treatments brought her closer to a stranger in an unexpected manner. Shelly Sunderland was sitting next to a patient prior to their first time …