Scott Fornek

Cancer survivor

Naperville, IL

Biography

Scott Fornek was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2010, while he was a sophomore in college. He experienced repeated sinus infection symptoms that weren’t responding to medicine or other treatment. He was then told he needed to have his tonsils removed. After the surgery, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He took one semester off of college after his initial diagnosis, then traveled between campus and treatments while he finished his degree. His treatments were finished in August 2013, and he has been cancer-free since that time. This experience inspired his wife to become an oncology nurse because of the wonderful care he received during his treatment.

IMPACT

Having her working as a nurse now, being around cancer every day, it reminds me still to be thankful and to put things into perspective for me. We don’t stress about the little things anymore. We always try to concentrate on what really matters…It’s changed our outlook on our lives tremendously.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

For me, that was really the only option. When you’re going through treatments, if you have a negative mindset, you might as well give up and not even bother; but when you have a great support system like I did and they’re constantly checking in on you and want to help you through everything; that’s really what go me through it. Just reminding myself ‘My family needs me,’ ‘I still have a lot I want to accomplish in life,’ and to just take it day by day. Thinking ‘I might feel crapy now, but I know I can beat this’ really motivated me to get through it. You need a positive attitude to get through it. If you can’t find something to laugh at or something to keep you going, then it’s really hard. I’m very lucky I had the family that I did and the friends that I did.

DAY BY DAY

You kind of black out at that point. I think immediately you go into survival mode. I just took a step back and thought ‘I’m not dead yet. I still don’t know a lot about what I’m up against.’ You go into ‘day-by-day’ mode where you worry about what you can control each day. Keep the long-term in perspective and do the best you can. The unknown is always scary. For me, treatment wasn’t the hardest part; it was seeing how it affected my family that was the hardest part because I knew I could get through it. I never doubted that I wouldn’t be able to survive, it was just hard to see how it affected my wife and my family, but just take it day by day and the rest will take care of itself.

Keep making them laugh, just be there for them. Spend time with them and cherish every moment you have. Anything you can do to bring them some joy.