Turning a life of lemons into lemonade

He remembers the day specifically.

It was Dec. 22, 2009, just 16 days before his 16th birthday. He was enjoying time with his family at Knott’s Berry Farm during Christmas break. Then the doctor’s office called with the results.

A few weeks earlier, he had gotten a suspicious lumped in his throat examined. The same lump, in fact, had been examined the previous year, where he was told to come back for another exam if anything changed. Well, it did, and here were the results — Erik Gray had salivary gland cancer.

“I grew up being the person that thought I’d never get cancer,” Gray said. “I think most people do, but then I did.”

Over the next six years Gray would undergo several rounds of radiation, chemotherapy and a total of ten surgeries including a surgery where his fibula was taken out of his left leg to replace a cancer-infected bone in his chin.

Gray’s battle with cancer became more like a roller coaster as he was diagnosed cancer free and then re-diagnosed with cancer in 2010, 2012 and again in 2013.

He finished a final round of chemotherapy in April of 2015 after six months of treatments and now lives in remission, cancer free.

Gray strives to be a motivation to others struggling with cancer and questions about faith through his blog, Life Without A Fibula.

On Friday April 8, Gray walked in Utah State University’s Relay for Life fundraiser as a cancer survivor, just a week shy of his one year mark of being in remission.

“This is the first time I’ve really gotten involved with teams and fundraising,” Gray said. “You get a lot of help and support from your family and stuff but it’s nice being able to give back. It was nice being able to go and celebrate the same thing.”

Gray and his team earned $600 that were donated to the Relay for Life foundation to help with cancer research. He also organized a fundraiser at Firehouse Pizzeria with the help of his co-captain Matthew Illario.

“Cancer affects everyone in someway or another,” Illario said. “The reason I participated was not only to benefit the American Cancer Society, but also to raise awareness about cancer in hopes of finding a cure.”

Gray plans to participate in Cache County’s Relay for Life that is scheduled for July 8, using his experience to help others in their fight with cancer.