When senior, Ryan Anderson, was diagnosed last April with osteogenic sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, he did not know if he would survive his long and exhausting battle. He had surgery to remove part of his right femur and nine months of chemotherapy to shrink the golf ball-sized tumor located in his knee. The odds were stacked against him, but he was resilient. Just like most of Anderson’s matchups in his playing days, he won.

A few weeks ago, Anderson was notified that his tumor was gone and is now cancer free. Anderson was glad to hear the news, but knows that life won’t immediately go back to normal. Not much has changed for him yet, but he is taking steps in the right direction.
“What has changed the most is the freedom and the peace of mind that comes with the news. It allows me to mentally start to prepare myself for down the road,” Anderson said.
He is cancer-free but that does not mean that he is in the clear just yet. As a matter of fact, there are many doctors’ visits already planned in the foreseeable future for Anderson.
“I’ll have to go back every month for the first year, then every six months for exams,” Anderson said.

Along with routine exams, he will also need bone scans and a computed axial tomography (CAT) scans every three months for the first year and then once a year, for the rest of his life.

As for school, Anderson is done with his online classes and is ready to return this semester.
“I am allowed to come back second semester, which will help make things normal again,” Anderson said.

He will finish the year out with the Class of 2012 and will graduate in early June. His battle with cancer has made graduating with his class that much more special.

“Graduating with the Class of 2012 means more now than it ever did,” Anderson said.
In the fall, he plans to attend Bowling Green State University and major in business.

His playing days might be over, but Anderson still enjoys the game. He was invited to the Army All-American Bowl out in Texas as a part of the East team. As many people know, Anderson was a division one football recruit before his diagnosis. He was able to watch practice and got to know other top players from around the country.

Quitting was never an option for Anderson. He took his battle on full throttle and because of that, he is still here to live his life and tell his story.