30 Years After Childhood Cancer

Shannon Hartey describes the lifelong impact of her pediatric cancer diagnosis.

I was diagnosed with cancer in 1994 at just six years of age. While treatment thankfully led to remission, it also marked the beginning of a lifelong journey. Over the past 31 years, I have faced the long-term effects of childhood cancer, not only physically, but emotionally.

When I was treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, late effects were not well understood. Survivors like me often entered adulthood unaware of the challenges ahead. From 2006 through 2020, I faced unexpected rounds of late effects that impacted me both internally and externally, carrying a mental weight that became a project all its own. To this day, I am still living with one of those late effects, which is permanently rooted and irreversible. While it has changed the way I live, I will not let it take life from me. Each chapter has shaped my perspective and fueled my drive to give back.

In high school, I founded a nonprofit to support pediatric cancer patients and their families. It ran for over a decade and gave me my first experience turning survivorship into advocacy. Today, I focus on creative advocacy. I am publishing a memoir, Define Remission, along with two children’s books: one that shares my cancer story through the eyes of friends, and another that helps children prepare for brain surgery. Define Remission explores the invisible weight of post-cancer trauma, resilience, and the ongoing process of healing. It redefines remission not as a single medical outcome, but as a personal journey of survival, acceptance, and growth.

My story has never been just about surviving cancer. It is about living with its shadow, growing through trauma, and using what I have learned to support the next generation of kids and families. Research saved my life in 1994. Continued funding ensures that survivors like me have the care, tools, and hope needed long after treatment ends.

Sharing stories like mine reminds the world that survivorship is a lifelong path. It is personal, complex, and deserving of attention, funding, and compassion.

Whether you are a patient, survivor, caregiver, or loved one touched by cancer, your story can have an enormous impact. You can provide hope and inspiration to someone recently diagnosed with cancer or a patient undergoing therapy.