HaLeigh Brewer and Kelly Gleason don't look particularly tough or imposing when you first look at them.
But they are fighters, and more importantly, they are survivors.
Both Brewer and Gleason have fought cancer and won and are two of four area recipients of $1,000 scholarships from the American Cancer Society, and both have chosen to use the money to help them learn to help others.
'Pretty terrifying'
HaLeigh Brewer was 22 months old and going through potty training when her parents saw blood in her urine. A visit to the doctor began a frightening experience for the new parents.
HaLeigh had cancer -- a Wilms tumor on one of her kidneys.
"It was terrifying when we got the phone call that said rush to Louisville," Deana Brewer, HaLeigh's mother, said. "They rushed us to Louisville and said 'Prepare to stay. They'll be doing surgery on her.' "
It wasn't all bad news as far as cancer goes, Brewer's father said.
"They said that if you're going to have a cancer, this is the best cancer to have," DeWayne Brewer said, explaining that Wilms tumors have a high cure rate. "But when it's your child, it's still pretty terrifying."
Doctors operated on HaLeigh and took the cancerous kidney out. HaLeigh then underwent chemotherapy to ensure the cancer was totally destroyed. For the next 15 years she would have regular visits with doctors to ensure her cancer hadn't returned, and so far it hasn't.
But making it through it all wasn't easy.
"Faith in God really gave us strength," Deana Brewer said. "It's just a miracle to see her all grown up and see her turn out to be such a perfect young lady."
'Life is a blessing"
The bump on her hand didn't seem like a problem, but Kelly Gleason's parents wanted a doctor to take a look at it. What the doctor found was an epithelioid tumor in a bone in Gleason's hand, a type of cancer that shows up mostly in women in their 20s.
Gleason was 12 years old and in the seventh grade when they found the tumor and remembers a little of what it was like to go through the diagnosis and treatment.
"At first, it was a little bit of a shock, and I didn't really know what was going on," Gleason said.
What she does remember is how she and her family got through it.
"I had a lot of people who supported me through it so it wasn't difficult," Gleason said.
Faith was also a big part of the process for her and her family as well, Gleason said.
"It really opened my eyes to that I have to put my trust in God through everything," Gleason said.
Doctors were able to remove the cancer, but the disease claimed a part of Gleason's hand as well. Doctors were forced to remove her right index finger to ensure that the cancer would not spread.
Seven years later, the cancer hasn't returned and Gleason gets yearly checkups to make sure that's still the case.
But it wasn't just her hand that was changed from the experience, Gleason said.
"It opened my eyes that life is a blessing," she said.
Fearless
Gleason has been cancer-free for 7 years. Brewer is considered cured, having been cancer-free for more than 15 years. Both of them are planning their futures.
Brewer has plans to attend the University of Kentucky, where she'll major in special education.
"I want to do something I know I'm going to enjoy, where I can go every day and have something to look forward to," Brewer said.
Whatever it is life throws at her, she said she knows now that she can deal with it.
"I look at it that there's always a chance for hope," Brewer said. "You can do so much after cancer. I can look back and say, 'I can do anything.' It's a 'Don't give up' attitude, which is a family motto."
For Gleason, it's much the same. She's already taking courses at Owensboro Community and Technical College and wants to attend Western Kentucky to major in speech pathology. Surviving cancer makes her all the more motivated, too.
"It makes me feel stronger as a person," Gleason said. "I feel like I can accomplish what I need to."
Both of them live with the specter of cancer in their lives and know it could return at any time. But whatever they feel with that thought in mind, it's not fear.
"I faced it once. I can face it again," Brewer said. "You have to take what God gives you and go with it. I don't think about that on a daily basis. It's not something I think about, and there's no point in worrying about it now."
Gleason said it's not a worry for her either, but the reality of cancer has changed her outlook.
"You should live every day passionately," Gleason said. "You should live every day to its fullest, because you never know what's going to happen." To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2008 Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.