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Jared's Story

By: Peter Slack
pslack@shaw.ca

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change … Charles Darwin

Twenty-four year old Jared Brick is a survivor. At the age of sixteen, he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor after suffering a concussion, refereeing a hockey game in his hometown of Quesnel. Rushed to Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Jared underwent two brain surgeries, 4 rounds of chemotherapy and 17 treatments of radiation.

Cancer free since July of 2000, quality of life is restricted by chronic fatigue and reduced concentration. Currently attending Douglas College on a part time basis, Jared will graduate next year with an Associate Science Degree. Future plans are for university and his ultimate goal of becoming a cancer researcher.

Jared Brick’s life changed with his diagnosis, but he adapted. He says, “there is a reason I survived and I’m still seeking the answer through the work I do.” However challenging college is, Jared has actively volunteered over the past five years working with Children’s Hospital as a Teen mentor and as a volunteer with Starlight Starbright.

Helping to raise funds for the mentor program, Jared also visits with patients and families in a peer support role. To promote awareness, he does public speaking engagements on behalf of Children’s Hospital. www.bcchildrens.ca/Volunteers

“You can’t speak to the kids at Children’s Hospital like they are kids”, says Jared. “They grow up fast and you have to be very honest with them. I recently worked with a five year old boy, and he is more mature than some of my peers... Having gone through my own personal battle, I feel I can relate to the situation they find themselves in. Being present, playing games and listening when they want to talk. I have found that most children have a special resiliency for life. The fear of death doesn’t consume them.”

Starlight Starbright is a non-profit organization www.starlight.org that helps seriously ill children and their families cope with their fear, pain and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. Jared also supports this organization through his volunteer time. “It’s not just the patient who goes through this serious illness; it’s also family and friends,” says Jared. “Starlight’s Great Escapes Program enables families to participate in activities and attractions outside the hospital environment. If I can help make their treatment a little easier from what I experienced, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do so.”

Jared emphasizes that cancer doesn’t end after treatment. “The side effects from treatment can potentially be a life long struggle. We have to find ways to lessen that impact, so that patients can live healthy, long lives.”

In psychology there are different stages of personal development. The highest level is called self-actualization. Jared says, “I feel like I have reached that level of awareness. The time I have left, is being put to a better use, than if I was still trying to discover myself. Cancer is a part of my life I can’t change; so I don’t dwell on ‘what ifs’.”

Jared’s journey and the challenges he’s had to endure should inspire all of us. Despite his health challenges, his ability to change and adapt, make him a survivor and a great success story.