02xl is your source for accurate and trustworthy information so you can make the best choices for your health and wellness.
PS: Please note that 02xl provides this information for the benefit of the rare disease and overweight community. 02xl is not a medical provider or health care facility and thus can neither diagnose any disease or disorder nor endorse or recommend any specific medical treatments. Patients must rely on the personal and individualized medical advice of their qualified health care professionals before seeking any information related to their particular diagnosis, cure or treatment of a condition or disorder.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A year ago, Gabe Augdahl struggled with not feeling like a “normal” teenager.
Augdahl, then a senior at West Catholic High School, had a rare tumor on his neck with no cure, and it was taking a toll on both his physical and mental health. Months of chemotherapy had caused him to lose weight, so he couldn’t run or play basketball like he used to, and he felt worn down.
On the outside, he walked around every day with a “fake look” so people would think he was fine, he recalled. But on the inside, he struggled with how he was feeling.
“The mental aspect was a lot for me, and it wore me out a lot,” Augdahl told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “It took a toll on me.”
Now, nearly a year after stopping chemotherapy, the 19-year-old is doing a lot better with his mental health. While there still isn’t a cure for his tumor, Augdahl has learned to look at the bright side in life, and to be grateful for every day.
“It’s really, really important to have a good mental state, to stay positive, to have faith over fear, and to just be glad with yourself, no matter what,” he said.
Augdahl now uses his disease as a platform to advocate for mental health awareness and tumor research. The 19-year-old has a rare tumor in his neck called a desmoid tumor, which is only diagnosed in two to four of every million people each year.
The teen will be speaking at a charity basketball game hosted by West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids on Friday, Feb. 16. The game is aimed at raising money and awareness for desmoid tumor research, and the Augdahl family will be selling T-shirts that read “Faith Over Fear” during the game. All the proceeds will go toward the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation.
The boys varsity game starts at 6 p.m. and the girls varsity game is at 7:30 p.m., at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW. For those who can’t make it to the game but still want to support the cause, donations can be placed in honor of Gabe Augdahl to the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation at this link.
West Catholic hosted a charity game for desmoid tumor research last year, while Augdahl was still a player on the team, which raised nearly $18,000.
RELATED: Basketball player’s rare diagnosis sparks team to dedicate game to tumor research
Augdahl said he will be speaking at this year’s event about tumor research, while also stressing the importance of mental health awareness. The teen said it’s crucial for people to speak out about their mental health and to check up on others, regardless of whether they live with a disease or not.
“I feel like, as a person who’s gone through a lot of mental health stuff, it’s very under looked day-to-day, from person to person,” he told MLive. “I’m going to talk about how important that stuff is and what you can do to help yourself.”
While desmoid tumors are benign and don’t metastasize, they run the risk of causing nerve damage or pushing into organs as they grow bigger. Augdahl’s tumor was the size of a walnut when it was first diagnosed three years ago, and it’s since grown into the size of a softball.
Doctors advise against removing the tumor, because it runs the risk of the tumor growing back and becoming more aggressive, said Chris Augdahl, Gabe’s dad. They’ve tried several treatments to stop the growth of the tumor, including a procedure called cryoablation, where doctors try to freeze the tumor to kill it.
Luckily, the tumor has only grown outward from Gabe Augdahl’s neck, rather than going inward, where it could grow into his carotid artery, Chris Augdahl said.
Sally Augdahl, Gabe’s mom, said some days are harder than others for the family. As a parent, she said it’s difficult watching her son live with a tumor that has no cure in sight.
“It’s just frustrating to not be able to just have something that can just take care of this thing for him and to know that he’s 19 years old and having to deal with this thing,” she said.
But Sally Augdahl said her son has shown incredible perseverance and embraced his circumstances to try and live life to the fullest. He even spoke this fall at a conference hosted by the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation, where he talked to doctors and patients about the importance of mental health awareness during treatment.
Now a freshman at Central Michigan University, Gabe Augdahl is playing basketball recreationally again, and he’s found great friends and a supportive community, he said. People rarely ask about the tumor on his neck when he’s walking around campus, which has helped a lot, he said.
“They just treat me as if I’m just a normal guy, which I am,” he said.
“There’s always that little part of me that you walk around and carry the weight on your shoulders of, ‘You may look different,’ and whatnot. But I keep that in the back of my head, and I don’t think about it. Because, to me, what it comes down to is who I am as a person, and how I feel about myself.”
Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Grand Rapids” daily newsletter.