Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 5, 1995 TAG: 9506050068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short
In addition to the normal crunch of homework, college applications and exams, the students have dealt with chemotherapy and uncertain futures. Instead of a beach trip after graduation, they might return to the pediatric oncology clinic at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals for more treatment.
Friends, relatives and teachers of the graduates - even Gov. George Allen - showed up to wish the students well at the party Friday. Corsages, balloons, sub sandwiches and a huge cake made for a festive atmosphere.
But no one could overlook the setting.
``Some may not make it,'' said Dr. E. Clifton Russell, director of MCV's pediatric hematology and oncology program. ``But that doesn't mean they shouldn't celebrate today as a milestone.''
The occasion marked a milestone not only for the graduates, but also for MCV. Never before has the pediatric hematology and oncology clinic had more than one or two patients to graduate at any one time.
Chalon Carter, who has seen more of MCV than of her high school during the past two years, missed much of her junior and senior years for treatment of Hodgkin's disease. During much of the past year, daily radiation treatments forced her and her mother to drive 88 miles from their home in Mecklenburg County to MCV, and back.
Carter returned to school in March and will graduate on time. ``She's tried to cram two years into the past few months,'' her mother said.
by CNB