Ask Reagan Hollister what the worst part of having cancer is, and she rattles off a long list of side effects.
Headaches, oral sores that make it difficult to eat and talk, and rapid weight loss are just a few of the things she knows about well.
She’s dealt with those since being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March.
It’s a disease famously overcome by Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro safety Eric Berry, and Pitt standout tailback James Conner, recently.
Those guys are hulking football players.
Hollister, a lanky, junior on the Central Dauphin field hockey team doesn’t quite fit that mold.
But, listen to her coach, Janelle Burger, tell it, and it’s obvious Hollister has something very important in common with the football stars.
“She's a warrior,” Burger said.
Not only has Hollister taken on Hodgkin’s, thus far, she has beaten it.
She returned to the field for Central Dauphin to start the season, and, last week, she got a PET scan back that delivered the news that she’s been fighting for – she’s cancer free.
Wednesday her team will honor her brave battle when it hosts Cumberland Valley at 7 p.m.
The first sign
It started with a lump on her side.
Hollister said doctors told her it was a non-cancerous cyst, but she knew something wasn’t right.
In the weeks that followed, she said the lump grew, hardened and turned a reddish color.
Then, on Valentine’s Day, she woke up with her chest and neck swollen so severely that she had to hunch while walking.
“We obviously knew that something was really wrong at that point,” she said. “That’s when we started to figure things out.”
Her first stop was Harrisburg Hospital where she underwent a series of tests. After her release from there, a biopsy was done, and that brought the life-altering diagnosis – she had Hodgkin’s.
Her parents, Paul and Lori Hollister, shared the news with family and friends, including the CD field hockey team.
“You hear about these things but it doesn’t really hit home until it hits someone you know and care about,” Burger said. “The day that we all found out it was kind of like you got punched in the gut. The team was very concerned for her.
“You spend a lot of time with your team,” she added. “I see these girls sometimes more than my own kids. They start to be a part of you. They’re your children, really. For me it was one of my players, one of the people closest to me, is going through a really tough time and I don’t know how to deal with that.”
Junior Sydney Breen, a friend and teammate of Hollister’s, can’t forget the moment she learned of the diagnosis.
“The toughest thing for me was finding out,” she said. “It was really hard to settle in on what was going on and how to come to terms with this. This was someone who I’ve known for years and now they have cancer. That took a while to set in.”
But Hollister said she never let it get her down.
Instead, she forged a two-pronged plan – beat the disease and get back to the field.
Company along the way
Breen said the team was determined that Hollister would not fight alone.
With help from sophomore Madison Kolakowski, Breen organized a mid-May field hockey tournament that served as a fundraiser.
Breen said after contacting a number of businesses and field hockey outfitters to gather donations and items for raffle baskets, they raised $1,100.
The team also wore shirts to honor Hollister, and attended a number of events over the summer to raise awareness for her fight. According to Breen, they frequently visited Hollister, and tried to help her maintain some normalcy in her life.
The CD student body created a poster of handprints, signatures and well wishes that was delivered to Hollister as well.
“They’ve just always been there,” Hollister said. “I think we started out close, but I’m closer to each of them because of this. They’ve always cared for me. Everyone did so much. I knew I had friends and stuff but the amount of people that reached out was overwhelming.”
The road to recovery
With the support system behind her, Hollister completed her first round of chemo at Hershey Medical Center on April 6.
That’s when the side effects started to show.
She started to lose her hair as well, but, Hollister said, she stayed strong.
“I feel like I didn’t really have a choice,” she said. “I didn’t want to feel bad for myself and I didn’t want others to feel bad for me. I just made it through and smiled as much as I could.”
Her strength was not lost on those around her.
“She took it head on,” Burger said. “Her positive attitude was a huge asset to this entire situation. That was a big tool that I think helped her and helped the team as well.”
Hollister finished her final round of chemo in June. She said she started gaining some weight back, and her blood-count levels got back to normal.
By the time July rolled around, she was ready to get back on the field.
“For me it was day-by-day,” she said. “It was, once I hit my final round of chemo, I’m going to start doing something. I didn’t want to fall more behind. I wanted to play and get ready for the season.
“Luckily for me my body handled the treatment and recovery very well,” she added. “For me it was easy to get back into the swing of things.”
Back in action
When Burger learned of Hollister’s diagnosis, she didn’t know if she would play again.
But, an email from Lori Hollister, let the coach know that Reagan planned on returning in the fall.
“That was definitely a blessing,” Burger said. “Reagan’s always going to be a part of our team. We need Reagan as much as Reagan needs us. That was our mentality going into it.”
Hollister said doctors told her to take it easy at first, and, while that was frustrating, she followed the orders.
But, on Aug. 25, she had worked herself into good enough shape to take part in CD’s preseason scrimmage with Elizabethtown.
She’s suited up for every game since.
“It’s incredible,” Burger said. “The day that she went onto the field almost the whole coaching staff had tears in our eyes. We were so happy that she was able to do that.”
The best news, though, came in the form of that scan last week.
“It was a relief,” Hollister said. “Everything with it is so stressful. In treatment you’re constantly doing stuff and then waiting. To finally get the clear just relieves everything. We could finally breathe. It’s a happy feeling.”
And, Hollister said, she feels like her health has returned to normal.
That is something she does not take for granted.
“I got to see the people who weren’t so lucky,” she said. “To be right here right now actually playing, I realize that I’m one of the lucky ones.”
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