CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — One out of 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday. KRIS 6 News reporter Naidy Escobar spoke to a student who beat the odds after being diagnosed with leukemia.
According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, leukemia is the most common cancer among children.
Faith, music, and his family helped Jose Lopez Jr. through a tough time in his life.
A student at Moody High School, Lopez Jr. took part in a tradition this August at Driscoll Children's where he got to ring the bell, signifying he beat cancer.
“In 2021 on Valentines Day I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia which is cancer in the blood,” Junior said.
At the time he was only 12-years-old and his mother, Leticia Lopez said when the doctor diagnosed him he was almost at stage four.
“The first 30 days of treatment were steroids so that’s what caused my muscles to weaken and there were a lot of things that happened, I got seizures so I had to relearn how to walk again," he said.
Ans things haven't been easy but Junior said his faith is what has kept him going, and until this day it is his top priority.
“A Bible verse that I always got me through was 'I could do all things through Christ who strengthen me Philippians 4:13,”he added.
His mother said this experience changed the families' lives completely. She and her husband worked around the clock caring for Junior. The Lopez family told KRIS 6 that their lives revolved around Junior.
Junior is the second oldest out of his four siblings (Natalia, Junior, Daniela and Arnulfo) and his father Jose Lopez said this journey has taught them all so much.
“I remember he said, which surprised me because I didn’t know he was this strong in his faith, he said 'Mom if God, if Jesus died on the cross what I am going to go through is nothing compared to what He went through for us,” Leticia said.
“To me he’s not a normal kid, he’s something else, I don’t know, why he is so strong and why he thinks like that because kids his age don’t think the way he does,” Jose said.
Junior had been in remission in June of 2021 but was in and out of the hospital during that entire year due to COVID-19. He caught it twice and although he was asymptomatic, he still had to quarantine because he had no defenses.
Leticia tells us that in July of 2022 he relapsed. But during the entire time, Junior was their strength through the toughest times.
“Anything bad happened he would go Mom it’s just a bump in the road, we got over the last one we could get over this one too, it’s God that (was) guiding us and he is the one that is going to heal me," she said.
Because of his chemotherapy, the doctor believed it also caused him to lose vision in his left eye and could only see 20% from his right eye.
“ I might bump into people but I make it to class on time,” he said.
His father Jose told KRIS 6 News that a year before he was diagnosed, Junior helped him kickstart their own landscaping business.
"Even though he can't fully see, he still tries to help me," Jose said. During the summer Junior makes it his mission to help with the family business and seeks every opportunity to help his father provide for the family.
Junior's resilience has inspired many, including himself—He now wants to show other kids that they can also beat cancer.
“I think it would have been different if I didn’t have faith” he said.
He is currently in the Health Science Program at Moody in hopes to jumpstart his career in the medical field. He is actually top 40 in his class and said he knows he has to work harder to get to where he wants to be.
Junior added that he hopes to one day become a nurse. He wants to help other kids win their battle against cancer, just like he did.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
