YOUNG ALUMNI
Perseverance True Voice of Cancer Survivors BY CAROLYN RUBENSTEIN ’03 n Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you’re told...maybe not. How would you cope? That’s the question the 20 young people in this book had to answer when they were diagnosed with childhood cancer. Perseverance shares life lessons learned through their stories and educates the reader on how to incorporate them into his/her life. It tells of their trials and tribulations, of their triumphs, and of the unique challenges that day-to-day life brings them. Perseverance also provides an intimate look at the lives and journeys of these young people and how their courage and strength have affected the lives of others. These honest, first-person accounts lend amazing depth to the inspiring stories of these young men and women. Inside, you’ll meet Zac York, who tells of climbing Mount Whitney – on crutches – after battling brain cancer. You’ll meet Alex Oden, who – just days after brain surgery – gave his eighthgrade peers a graduation speech called “A Day Well Spent,” in which he challenged
them to make a difference in just one day. You’ll meet Kristen Jones who, while battling leukemia, was able to pass the MCAT and pursue her dream of becoming a pediatric oncologist. Twenty unique and fascinating stories with one common theme: perseverance. The stories of these heroes demonstrate how anyone can learn to live with energy and passion. I have spent most of my life working with children with cancer, in one form or another. I first met “kids with cancer” when I was six years old, and visited Camp Sunshine in Maine. Even at that young age, meeting these children affected me deeply – they were my peers, but considered “different.” But really, I realized, they weren’t different at all. I made dear friends at that camp, and it started me on a path. That path has taken many turns. At 14, although still just a kid myself, I started “Carolyn’s Compassionate Children” (CCC), a non-profit organization that began as a penpal program for kids with cancer. As the years passed, I “grew up” with many of my friends with cancer, and saw the financial difficulties they were facing when it came to paying for college. Often, these young people had so much medical debt that paying for school seemed out of the question. To address this need, CCC changed its focus from just a pen-pal organization to one that provides scholarships and support to childhood cancer survivors. In addition to providing its own scholarships, today CCC
features on its Web site the “CCCpedia,” a database that can access information about more than 3,000 college scholarships for young adult cancer survivors. A native of Boca Raton, FL, Rubenstein graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Duke University in 2007 with a BA in psychology. She began her Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at Harvard University in the fall of 2008. Now age 24, in her free time she practices yoga, writes letters, and spends as much time as she can with her family, friends, and her dog, Lila Rose. Rubenstein is a Featured Blogger on the Huffington Post and also blogs on Psychology Today. Rubenstein’s Web site is www. carolynrubenstein.com/. She also has a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/clrsimple2.
BOOK PREVIEW
“He spoke in great detail about his battle with brain cancer. He was so upbeat that I thought to myself, ‘This kid spent years in a hospital bed fighting for his life, went through brain surgery, has impairments that he has to deal with because of the surgery, and here I am worrying about a chemistry exam.’”
Pine Crest Magazine Fall 2009
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