UNSTOPPABLE

A survivor of childhood cancer, Erika Roberts is a potitive force

BY ELLEN ORR

efore her first birthday, Erika Roberts underwent seven rounds B of chemotherapy and one round of cryotherapy to fight the 74 tumors that were attacking her eyes. Erika, now 18-years-old and a freshman at Sam Houston State University, still has the two (small, dormant) tumors in her right eye, but the 72 malignant tumors on her left eye proved to be too aggressive for even the best treatment. Bilateral retinoblastoma, or retinal cancer in both eyes, is an incredibly rare pediatric cancer; according to St. Jude, fewer than 100 children in the United States are diagnosed with it each year. Though sometimes it is caught in routine eye exams, parents often notice the signs just as Erika’s did. “Before I was diagnosed, my parents noticed that

I would not react to or follow toys meant for visual stimulation, and my cousin, who is the same age as me, would react to them,” Erika said. In addition, Erika’s grandmother recognized something peculiar in photographs of her granddaughter. “When young kids who have retinoblastoma are photographed [with flash], there will be a white glare in their eyes, and not a red one like most people have,” she explained. “My Grammy noticed [this].”

After diagnosis by a local ophthalmologist in February 2004, Erika was treated at Baylor Scott & White in Temple, Texas. “My parents have always told me that I got blessed with the best staff I could have asked for, and I am lucky because of that,” she said.

The chemo and cryotherapies were no match for the tumors in Erika’s left eye, so it was removed and replaced with a prosthetic. Erika progressed typically for the next year, but at age two, her parents realized that another of Erika’s senses was developing atypically: “I was not hearing things as well as I should have been,” she said.

An audiologist diagnosed her with hearing loss in both ears, caused by the chemotherapy. (The chemo drugs used most frequently to treat retinoblastoma are known to cause hearing loss in about 20 percent of patients by damaging inner-ear cells.) Erika was fitted with hearing aids for both ears, which she has worn ever since.

Though her hearing loss was near-severe at the time of diagnosis, her hearing continued to degenerate, and at 16, local audiologist

Dr. Kelly Pack informed her that her hearing loss had progressed to severe in both ears. “Dr. Pack has worked with me for the last few years, making sure that I am hearing everything that I need to by using new hearing aids with updated speakers, microphones for when I may need them during class, and making sure my hearing has not continued dropping,” Erika explained. Though she counts herself as lucky not to “Cancer has forever remember her cancer experience or the onset of her disability, the long-term ramifications of both do impacted me not evade her. “Cancer has forever impacted me and and the way that the way that I have lived,” she said. “It is not easy being a cancer survivor. It is traumatic on someone

I have lived.” no matter what kind of cancer you have or at what age you had it. One way that it has impacted me is that it took away my ability to have children.” Though Erika is physically able to bear children, she has made the decision not to, as there is a high chance of passing “the cancer gene” to any offspring. “I’ve known since I was young that I was meant to be a mom, and to know that I have to sacrifice that hurts my heart,” she said, “but I would not want my children to go through the same things I’ve been through. I’ve also seen how [my cancer has] affected my parents throughout the years, and that played a big part in my decision not to have kids.” Beyond this, being a cancer survivor is an experience rife with trauma and grief. Erika has experienced more death and illness among her friends than many people twice her age have had to go through. Even still, Erika sees all of the beauty in her life that has come from her cancer experience. One major silver lining has been that of Camp Dreamcatcher, a camp for childhood cancer survivors who were treated at Baylor Scott & White, located at Camp For All in Burton, Texas. “I went to Camp Dreamcatcher from ages 5 to 16, and it was the happiest time of my life,” she said. “I’ve always called it ‘my Disneyland.’ I’ve made lifelong friendships at camp. It was one week with people who related to what you had been through and accepted you with open arms.” Though the camp has been closed due to COVID for the past few years, Erika looks forward to being a counselor there when they reopen. In the meantime, the significance of camp has influenced Erika to become a counselor at another camp—one that serves adult campers with developmental disabilities. “I know what it feels like to be ‘different,’” she reflected. “[People with disabilities] just want to be treated like normal people, because we are normal people. I am a very passionate person and will always love teaching [disabled campers] that they are just as amazing as anyone else.” Erika channels her passion in other avenues as well. Raising awareness of both childhood cancer and ocular and audiological disabilities is important to her. In high school, through Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), she created a project to increase childhood cancer awareness. After presenting to her local organization, she took the project to a state competition, where she won first place and qualified for the national competition in San Diego in summer 2022. “My project opened people’s eyes to the reality of childhood cancer, and that was my goal of the project, so I could not be more happy about how it all turned out,” she said.

Wendy and Chris Roberts, Erika’s parents, have always been her biggest champions.

Though her FCCLA project was academic and professional in nature, Erika engages in community education through more casual means as well. “In my opinion, the best way to cope with anything you go through is with a sense of humor, so, when I got [a TikTok account], I incorporated my life story and my sense of humor into one,” she said. Erika, whose TikTok bio reads, “eyes: 1/2, personality: 10/10,” creates a variety of videos, including some that address her disabilities. In one video, she casually and surprisingly removes her prosthetic eye and both hearing aids, inspiring shock and hilarity among TikTok viewers from around the world. The video currently has over 13,000 views.

Erika understands that not everyone with visible disabilities feels as confident about their differences, but she would encourage them to get comfortable with the qualities that make them special. “The ‘differences’ that you might hate are the reasons that you stick out from others, and that is a great thing, although it may not always feel like it,” she said. “These differences make you stronger and more amazing than you will ever realize. Embrace these differences, because once you do, you will be unstoppable. Of course, there have been a lot of struggles throughout my life and a few missed opportunities due to my disabilities, but despite everything, I am where I was meant to be, and that is all that matters to me. It’s not easy, but the best thing to do is to not let anything hold you back, and that’s how I have made it this far. I survived something terrible and came out a better person because of it.”