It wasn’t the senior year Terrance Anderson Jr. envisioned, but thanks to the fight and determination inside him, it finished exactly the way it was supposed to.
When Anderson walked across the stage to receive his diploma at Destrehan High School’s graduation, it represented the accomplishment of a goal he set late last year – just after being diagnosed with bone cancer. Anderson vowed to be healthy enough to attend graduation with his classmates, and it’s exactly what he did.
Another milestone is upcoming as well: his final chemotherapy treatment. His prognosis is good and he’s planning to attend trade school for welding.
An emotional night for Anderson and his family was one of triumph.
“I didn’t let cancer stop me,” Anderson said. “I had to push through, just had to fight harder.”
He wanted his parents to be able to see him walk across the stage on graduation night.
“I knew it would make them happy, and to see them happy made it special,” he said.
Anderson was preparing for basketball season early in his senior year when he suddenly developed pain in his leg when running or jumping.
“Anytime I tried to jog, hop, jump, anything, it hurt. I couldn’t straighten my leg out,” Anderson said. “Thought was, maybe it’s a torn ligament but … not really. There was no way that this was a torn ligament. It couldn’t have been that. It came out of nowhere.”
An MRI uncovered bone lesions, followed by a biopsy. Then came the shocking news that at 17, Anderson was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
“My mom was crying. So was I, for a moment. But from that day forward, I had to be strong for the both of us,” said Anderson. “It was cancer, and a lot of people might give up in the face of that. I used it as fuel.”
Anderson missed the majority of his senior year as he underwent treatment.
“I was really looking forward to my senior year and I didn’t get to really experience it. But it was a blessing, honestly,” Anderson said, “If they hadn’t caught it early, when they did, it would have spread throughout my body and made things a lot worse.”
He said chemotherapy was the most challenging aspect for him.
“I was nauseated, with blurry eyesight and ringing in my ears,” Anderson said. “I was throwing up every time I ate. And then the surgery (to remove the tumor) … I’m still recovering from that. I still can’t run or do anything like that.”
Anderson completed his final year of classes virtually all the while, making his graduation night a reality.
Through it all, he stayed positive. Anderson is one of seven children, and he felt he needed to set the expectation for him family: that he would be OK.
“I had to be a man, step up and be strong for my family,” Anderson said. “God does everything for a reason. If he doesn’t think you can handle it, he wouldn’t put you through it.”
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