Allie DeBor: Childhood Cancer Awareness


Allie DeBor
Marketing Assistant


Childhood Cancer Awareness
“Your child has cancer.” Those were the words my parents heard the afternoon of August 5, 1995. At the age of two, we were just beginning what would be a long journey none of us were prepared for. A few weeks before, I had a persistent cold that wouldn’t seem to go away. I was more tired than usual and in most situations, was found curled up on my mom’s lap, hunched over in pain. After an appointment that felt like days at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the doctors told my parents that I had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of blood cancer commonly referred to as ALL.

From there I started chemotherapy that caused me to be an insomniac, lose all of my hair and for a period of time even made me paralyzed. I wouldn’t change any of it though, because without it, I wouldn’t be here today.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget what I went through those years I had cancer. That being said, I could have decided to move on, live my life and try my best to put my cancer and the hardship my family and I went through behind me, but instead, I have chosen to remember it and let it be a daily reminder of how grateful I am for the life I have and the career I want
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Fast-forward to today, writing this blog post at my desk as the Marketing Assistant for AdvantageCare Rehabilitation, LLC and Advantage Home Health Services, LLC. This morning, I came into work, opened my laptop, made a cup of coffee and started my day feeling grateful – just like I do every day. I feel grateful to work at a company so dedicated to helping patients and families. A company where physical therapists work day in and day out to promote their patient’s health just like my physical therapist did for me when I couldn’t walk from chemotherapy. I feel grateful to walk into my office every day and know that I am in a career where I feel like I am making someone’s life better just like so many health clinicians made mine. I am grateful because I am here. I am here and I am alive and I am healthy. Today, I am 19 years and 33 days cancer-free!

This is the daily pattern that I am fortunate enough to call my life. Little instances of being grateful over and over again. I am blessed every single day because in small, I feel lucky enough just to have another day. For me, I wouldn’t change the fact that I had cancer. It has taught me to look at the positives rather than focusing on the negatives. It has given me the reassurance of hope, of trusting in the people that I love and has made me realize how fragile life really can be.
Cancer has taught me to laugh a little louder, work a lot harder and to take each and every day I have as a blessing. This month and every month, I am proud to call myself a childhood cancer survivor.

Meet Allie DeBor
Allie is the Marketing Assistant for Advantage Home Health Services and AdvantageCare Rehabilitation located in the corporate office in Pittsburgh, PA. Allie is a graduate of Penn State University. In her spare time she enjoys interior decorating and spending time with her dog, Ruby. You can follow her interior design Instagram: @littledebordecor

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