Tiacara McCoy didn’t let cancer stop her.
Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 13 years old, McCoy didn’t understand why or how she came to have cancer at a time when she and her friends were set to start eighth grade.
As difficult as it is to come to grips with the news, McCoy accepted it and used it to make her stronger.
Three years later, McCoy is cancer free and is doing her best to make sure that nothing stops her friends on the West Lowndes High School girls track and field team.
“She gives us motivation because she never complained even when she was in pain going through what she was going through,” said Trenyla Brewer, a junior captain on the team. “She is always on you, making sure you go to class and get this done. She is on you no matter what.”
Brewer and some of her teammates will recognize McCoy when they take part in the Relay for Life on Friday, April 27, in Columbus. Even though the members of the girls track and field team won’t be able to stay the night because they have a track meet the next day, Brewer said the Lady Panthers wanted to participate in Relay for Life to support McCoy, who is the manager of the girls track and field team and the fast-pitch softball team.
“It is very significant to us and very close and near and dear to our heart because we do have a cancer survivor,” Brewer said.
West Lowndes High girls track and field coach Eddie Chapman and his wife, Jennifer, are members of the American Cancer Society. He said they and about half of the 18 girls from the track and field team will participate in the Relay for Life. He said he is proud his student-athletes are taking part in the event because it will develop a camaraderie that will bring the team closer together. He said that team spirit has made it a joy to coach the Lady Panthers.
“She has been the inspiration for most of the girls on the team,” Chapman said of McCoy. “The group as a whole is probably one of the best unified teams that has come together as a family versus some of the other teams I have coached.”
McCoy said she discovered she had cancer shortly after feeling a knot on her neck. She said she went to the doctor and had the knot removed and learned it was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, bone marrow and other places. McCoy then went through chemotherapy and radiation to wipe out the cancer.
“Everything looks good. It is clean and it is gone,” McCoy said. “I shouldn’t have to worry about anything.”
McCoy said she learned how to give courage to others from her ordeal. Now 16, McCoy said she hasn’t prevented her from being a part of as many things as possible. In fact, Brewer joked she and McCoy are a “package deal.” She said they are both AP Ambassadors and class officers (Brewer is treasurer; McCoy is secretary). McCoy also is a member of the BETA Club.
McCoy is looking forward to Relay for Life because she will experience it with her friends and all of the others who have been affected by cancer.
“I inspire them just as much as they inspire me,” McCoy said.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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