Skip to Content

Colorado Springs teen advocates for childhood cancer awareness year-round

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Every day, 43 kids between the ages of 0-19 in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer. While September just wrapped up Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, one Vista Ridge High Schooler uses her time to advocate for it year-round.

Cheyenne Dyess, a junior at Vista Ridge, is known for being dedicated to her studies and her impressive skills on the wrestling mat, but she too once went through the cancer battle.

"It’s crazy to think about I went through that and I’m where I’m at now," said Cheyenne.

In 2015, Cheyenne was nine, that's when everything turned upside down.

"She had a bump that appeared on her throat, we went to the emergency room. They said it was a cyst that had gotten infected, sent us home. Four days later, she couldn’t breathe, so what was the size of a quarter on an X-ray on a Tuesday was the size of a dinner plate on a Friday," said Amy Dyess, Cheyenne's mom.

Cheyenne was life-flighted to Denver and diagnosed with T-lymphoblastic Lymphoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer. She went through two and half years of treatment including chemotherapy. She rang the recovery bell in 2017.

"It was so great. I got to ring a cancer bell, you get to do it right after the last chemo treatment, and then you get an end of chemo certificate," said Cheyenne.

Now, Cheyenne wants to help others. During her treatment, she was an ambassador for St. Baldrick's Foundation and continues to raise money for them yearly. Their head-shaving events have become a staple in the Dyess family.

"As a mom in the middle of the night, all I did was the keyboard warrior thing where I was like how do I fix this for my kid. So, it was a terrifying journey but it was good to find places that we could support and kind of use her experience to help other people," said Amy.

Article Topic Follows: News

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Jessica Gruenling

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KRDO NewsChannel 13 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content