Boles High School senior "staying strong" in battle against cancer

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October 12, 2012

Boles High School senior "staying strong" in battle against cancer

By Joseph Hamrick Herald-Banner Staff The Herald-Banner Fri Oct 12, 2012, 09:43 AM CDT

GREENVILLE — Wearing a bracelet his teacher bought him, Corbin Fleming, a senior at Boles High School, said it reminds him to keep battling in his fight against cancer.

“One of the teachers ordered 300 and sold them at the football games,” he said. “It says ‘Stay Strong Corbin.’”

Fleming was diagnosed in April with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer mainly found in children 1 to 5. He said he started noticing something was wrong when he had to go to the bathroom a lot and felt weak.

“I started exercising and got down to 210 pounds,” he said. “Then I got sick in April and now I am 170 pounds. The lowest I’ve been was 158 pounds.”

Fleming said he doesn’t remember how his friends and family first reacted to the diagnosis, but he said that the response since has been uplifting.

“It really means a lot,” he said.

According to Fleming, his battle against cancer is a daily effort.

“I’m just taking it day by day and trying not to worry about it,” he said.

Although his cancer has slowed him down, he said he still enjoys his classes.

“Right now we’re making a 3-D ribbon for our art project,” he said. “They let us cook sometimes in our Food Science class. We made a green and red pepper with cottage cheese dip.”

Between going through chemotherapy at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and The University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center for his radiation, Fleming said it has been exhausting.

“I started chemo back in April and finish it next April, and I have 17 more days of radiation,” he said. “It’s boring and tiring. The doctors are nice, though.”

Instead of focusing on which college to attend after high school, Fleming said he is focusing on getting things back to normal.

“I want to do a lot of fun things I can’t do right now,” Fleming said. “but the first thing I want to do is go out on Lake Tawakoni.”

Fleming said that his fight wouldn’t have been possible without the support from the family and community.

“I want to say thank you to all my friends and family for their support, and Boles for the support,” he said. “It has meant a lot.”