Faith, friends and family keep cancer survivor going

Adam Rader

LUDINGTON – Adam Rader’s life changed two years ago when the then-16-year-old was kicked in the stomach by a cow on the family’s Branch Township farm. At first doctors thought he had just developed

Survivor Justin Ray walks the victory lap with his sons, Walter and Robert.

pneumonia, but later discovered that he a cancerous mass had formed, pushing major organs, including his heart. He had a rare bone cancer known as Ewings Sacroma.

Rader, 18, was the key note speaker during the opening ceremony of today’s Relay for Life at Oriole Field.

Since his October 2011 diagnosis, he has been to Helen Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids numerous times, at one point traveling there daily for treatments.

“I went through 31 treatments of radiation and 17 rounds of chemotherapy,” he said. “I’ve had a bone marrow transplant and surgery to remove the mass. This past January we discovered that the cancer came back and I was back in the hospital. This time it was in my spine. I’ve had 31 more treatments of radiation since then and I’m still going.”

Rader said his family, friends and church family are what keep him going.

Taylor Makowiski sings “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Joan Archer gives a thumbs-up during the victory lap.

“I am a strong Christian and I am very open about my faith,” he said. “God gave me a verse that has kept me going through this, John 11:4: ‘This sickness will not end in death.’”

Adam’s story and many like it are most likely being shared all over Oriole Field today and through the night. Dozens of survivors took the “victory lap” around on the track to begin the relay.

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