Casey O’Brien, a five-time cancer survivor, sat down with us to discuss his journey through his cancer diagnoses. After being diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at 13 years old in 2013 Casey tackled treatment, school and sports. The Minnesota native gives us an insight into his process and what he has been able to accomplish through the years.
Tell us about yourself.
I’m 22 years old I’m from St. Paul MN and I am a five times osteosarcoma survivor. I graduated from Minnesota with a degree in Finance and now I’m working a full time in downtown Minneapolis.
When were you first diagnosed?
The first time was in 2013, just about to go into high school. It took a about nine months of chemo and surgery before I was in remission.
How has going through cancer five times affected you and your family?
You know it’s been tough it’s been hard. There’s been a lot of scary days and scary doctors’ visits and phone calls, but what I will tell you that it’s made us a lot closer as a family. So, I’m thankful that we’ve been able to kind of bond over it and you know become a really tight knit family. Not only our immediate family but also like cousins and grandparents used to come and sit down with hospital with me.
You played football through your treatments, how did that go?
Yep twice. My parents or grandparents would pick me up and then come to the appointments with me. Wherever I had to go there was always someone with me. My coaches were awesome. You know they just said whatever you can be at. That they wanted me around and to take care of my body first. So that’s how we handled it.
What have you learned from juggling treatments, school, and being a part of a D1 team?
Obviously, it’s different for everyone, but for me time management was important. I also found what made me happy away from sports, school, and treatment. You can kind of go and take your mind off things because obviously it’s a lot of stress to do all of that. For me it’s playing golf, but maybe it’s fishing or maybe it’s painting or whatever.
Now that your graduated and in remission, what are you up to?
After being treated at Masonic Children’s Hospital I want to make sure that the kids there feel the same support I did. Right now I’m undergoing a project to raise $1 million for the 9th floor. This will provide an update in technology and activities kids will need to pass time in the hospital. Whether it’s books, movies, or games. It’s the floor where I did a bunch of my chemo and I want to make that experience as good as I can for those kids.
How is the fundraising going so far?
We’ve raised $160k and we started this past June.
Do you have any advice for those going through treatment or remission?
You know the biggest thing I can tell you is just show up every day. Obviously, there’s plenty of times where I didn’t want to go to the hospital, but I knew that once I got there and once, I started with the chemo it was one more day I could cross off the calendar. You’re in great hands with your doctors and with the people who are taking care of you Just show up with that positive attitude.
Through Casey’s journey he’s worked every day to get better and stronger, whether that was through his schooling or sports. Now with his goal to help the Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis he is working to make his community better and stronger.
