Lauren Hart, a senior Clarkston High School, is once again back in Tennessee to fight her disease.
Hart was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, when she was in eighth grade. She attends St. Jude Hospital in Tennessee to improve her chances for survival.She lives in Clarkston with her mother Kathy, father Allen, brother Jacob and sister Sarah.
‘Right now I’m at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital because it is literally the best cancer hospital in the world,? said Hart. ‘Going there gives me the best chance to be cured.?
Hart is a member of the CHS Japanese Club. Recently club members arranged a carnation sale in Hart’s honor. All proceeds from the sale go to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Tennessee. Hart says she appreciates the club’s efforts and thanked her Japanese teacher Rice Sensei for coordinating the sale.
‘I think it’s awesome that they would do that for me,? said Hart. ‘I never thought people cared about me that much, but I guess I was wrong.?
Hart said she was feeling well for a while. She continued traveling back and forth from Clarkston to Tennessee to receive her annual scans for check-up. The last trip to though brought bad news to the Hart family’s ears.
‘Unfortunately they discovered that the cancer is back and it’s in several locations,? said Hart.
Hart said the cancer is located in 1/3 of the left thighbone, on the tip of the right thighbone,in the number three vertebrae and in parts of two ribs.
‘I’m not really depressed about this second reoccurrence,? said Hart. ‘I’m just angry at it.?
‘How dare it come back in my body, it’s not allowed in here.?
Hart and her family are confident that this will be the last time Hart has to deal with the cancer. Their hopes and prayers are that she will be cured.
When Hart is away in Tennessee, she said she misses her friends and family greatly. She is very proud to be a Clarkston resident and says, ‘you never know how good it is until you have to leave it.?
Hart expects to be home in March until she returns to Tennessee for chemotherapy treatments. Once the therapy has shrunken the tumor, Hart will remain in Tennessee for four months to get a stem cell transplant from her brother Jacob.
‘When I come home, me and my friends are going to party like there’s no tomorrow,? said Hart. ‘I couldn’t ask for better family and friends.?