After the surgery, doctors told Da Silva Andrade the lump was an aggressive lymphoma, and the next step would entail chemotherapy. All of this happened as she attempted to ready herself for her freshman year at Charleston Southern. She had fallen in love with the campus during a visit, and the first week of college was getting closer and closer. But there was this other matter that hung over every passing moment. The night before she was scheduled to see her oncologist, Da Silva Andrade’s church held a special prayer service. Her minister prayed that the cancer no longer be present. “Sure,” Da Silva Andrade remembered while sitting with her eyes closed with family and friends, “that’s quite a big ask, but is it possible?” The next day, there was no cancer to be found in her body. Her doctors decided the top specialists and scientists at Yale should take a look. From June until August, she underwent scans, bone marrow tests and multiple visits to Yale. Still, the cancer was not detectable, and it was determined that there was no reason to commence chemo treatments. Two weeks before CSU’s academic year began, Da Silva Andrade called enrollment to let them know she was still coming. Mom, Dad and her two younger siblings brought her to school, to a new family many miles from her Connecticut home. It’s been about three years since the surgery; she’s still cancer free. Her story has provided opportunities to share her faith in ways never expected. She really enjoys sharing the story with her nursing friends as it relates to God’s healing power. She also believes it’s had a profound impact on her Dad, who had not attended church since Da Silva Andrade was a baby. Recently, she learned her father was in church asking for continued prayer for his daughter. Meanwhile, Da Silva Andrade’s now a rising senior, majoring in psychology and child development. She wants to be a child life specialist. It’s a profession that counsels and assists hospitalized children coping with lifethreatening illnesses. She still admits to battling doubts. Random sick moments such as a cold or loss of appetite can send her mind racing. Her mother, though, quickly reminds her that her faith brought her through much more difficult times. Da Silva Andrade has a heart for ministry and works with young people at her church, New Spring. She was also involved in forming the school’s first Worship Dance Team. “The Lord was faithful to me through my doubt, and I’m trying to be faithful to Him,” she said. The Christian atmosphere attracted her to CSU, and she said, she continues to love the ministry of the school. “It’s the perfect place for me.”
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