Life comes full circle for childhood cancer survivor
Katelyn Magyar's 22-year life journey has taken her from childhood cancer patient to studying biology/premed at The College of Wooster. As she looks ahead to medical school to become a pediatric oncologist, Magyar spent the recent fall semester studying in Australia.
For Katelyn “Boo” Magyar, the journey from childhood cancer patient to studying biology/premed at The College of Wooster has come full circle, as she looks ahead to medical school to become a pediatric oncologist.
For Magyar, who grew up on the outskirts of Rittman and graduated from Norwayne High School in 2022, life took a scary turn when she was just 4 and diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“I was in treatment from the time I was 4 until I was just about 7 (and) was finally considered cured at age 12,” Magyar said. “However, being cured didn’t stop the long-term side effects that still impact me every day.
“For example, I now have Raynaud’s syndrome, a disorder that causes poor circulation in the hands and feet, causing them to become very pale and white. Cancer treatment also caused my autoimmune disorder of Graves’ disease. It has also caused brittle hair, low iron, liver and kidney issues.”
But “Boo,” as she has been nicknamed since childhood, hasn’t let her cancer battle scare her off what she wants to do with her life.
Studying biology at The College of Wooster for nearly the last three years has provided her many opportunities including a trip this summer with the college to Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium, studying environmental impacts and sustainability in those countries and comparing them to the United States.
She then spent the fall semester at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, studying medicine and biology and pursuing her interest in public health.
“This experience helped me gain a new perspective in the way each country handles different biological problems and issues,” Magyar said. “In Australia I studied personalized medicine, genes/genomes, environmental impacts on the Great Barrier Reef and sociology with a focus in mental health.
“All of the courses had a biology-based connection that helped me work toward my degree while some had a more specific concentration on my main interest: human anatomy and medicine.”
With her cancer diagnosis at such a young age and experiencing so much through that battle and since, it’s not surprising Magyar has suffered through some bouts of depression, anxiety and PTSD. But the trips abroad, especially her time in Australia, have helped her to become more independent and confident in herself. Meeting new people from all over the world and experiencing different learning and teaching environments have given her a different world view and perspective and made her more open-minded.
Magyar plans to graduate from Wooster next year and move on to medical school, hoping to become a pediatric oncologist in order to give back, as all those who helped her through her own cancer journey did years ago.
While she has some scars from her cancer journey, the hope of giving back to others also lives deep within her.
“I hope to be able to help kids,” Magyar said, “not just here, but all around the world.”