At 16, Janelle Bombalier is grateful for the simple things that her peers take for granted. Taking classes, going to the mall —even being able to walk and run. “I don’t even remember ever feeling like this,” Janelle said. “I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t sick.” The Kendall high school junior is not exaggerating. When she was 8, she was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, the most common type of thyroid cancer. It was an aggressive form that spread to her lungs. “She maxed out on therapy,” said her mother, Yenissel Bombalier. “Her lung function had deteriorated so much she could barely walk; she had to take oxygen with her wherever she went. She was losing weight. The quality of...
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