- Title: She beat childhood cancer. Now she's headed to space
- Date: 26th February 2021
- Summary: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 25, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) HALEY ARCENEAUX, 29-YEAR-OLD CANCER SURVIVOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT AT ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL CHOSEN TO FLY TO SPACE ON INSPIRATION4, SAYING: "I really hope to inspire these kids by going on this mission to dream big, that they can do anything. I was talking to this little gir
- Embargoed: 12th March 2021 07:23
- Keywords: Haley Arceneaux SpaceX St. Jude Children's Research Hospital cancer survivor chosen to fly to space
- Location: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES AND IN SPACE
- City: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES AND IN SPACE
- Country: USA
- Topics: Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories,United States,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA00FE1A5KCN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: "I'm going to space," she said incredulously. She is Haley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old who has been beating the odds since childhood, when she survived bone cancer. Now, she could become the youngest person ever to fly into space.
Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital where she was treated as a child, was chosen by the hospital and billionaire philanthropist Jared Isaacman to fly on the private Inspiration4 SpaceX mission later this year on the first space flight without an astronaut aboard.
She said the announcement was completely unexpected.
"Getting this call to go to space came out of completely nowhere. I think that's the beauty of life, that sometimes it surprises you," she said.
Isaacman, who will serve as mission commander, has given two seats to the hospital: one for Arceneaux and one for the winner of a raffle which will raise money for the medical center that provides free care to children with cancer. The last seat will go to the winner of an entrepreneurship contest using Shift4 Payments, the company founded by Isaacman.
Once all the participants are chosen, they will train for the flight on the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which is expected to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
"It'll start with the centrifuge training, like going around really fast to feel all the G-forces. And then we're going to prepare for any possible situation. We're going to spend a lot of time in the Dragon simulator and then I'll get some additional preparation as I'm the medical officer of this flight," she said.
Unlike the NASA and SpaceX flights that go to the International Space Station, this one will travel around earth for several days, during which time Arceneaux said she expects to participate in science experiments.
Isaacman hopes the sweepstakes raises $200 million for the hospital, half of which he will donate directly.
Arceneaux said she is excited by the prospect of helping the hospital because she credits it with saving her life.
"St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is so near and dear to me because they saved my life when I was a kid," she said.
When Haley was 10, her mother noticed a bump on her leg, which the doctor diagnosed as osteosarcoma. Upon hearing the devastating news, the family asked to be referred to St. Jude.
Over the course of the next year, Haley underwent chemotherapy and surgery that removed part of her femur and replaced it with a prosthesis, all without charging the family a cent.
"As difficult as that year was physically, it was the most meaningful year of my life. I had so much hope and I was in good spirits and that was because of St. Jude. St. Jude just let me be a kid. I pulled pranks on the staff and me and my friend would put on these big dance shows that we would make everyone come watch and St. Jude just let us be little girls and have fun," she said.
When the doctor gave the family the good news that Haley was cancer-free and could go home, she said she cried because she didn't want to leave St. Jude which she refers to as a second family.
She vowed to pursue a medical career and return to St. Jude as an employee. Last year, her dream came true when she was hired as a physician assistant to work with children suffering from leukemia and lymphoma.
Encouraging the children at St. Jude is paramount to the vivacious Arceneaux.
"I really hope to inspire these kids by going on this mission to dream big, that they can do anything. I was talking to this little girl yesterday and she was saying that she's upset that she can't run or jump. And I said, "You know, I can't run or jump either because I have a prosthesis in my leg but that's not stopping me from going to space.' This mission is opening up space travel to anyone and I think that in itself is going to motivate people and give them so much hope," she said.
Arceneaux will be the first person with a prosthesis to fly into space. The metal rod would normally preclude someone from passing the astronaut's rigorous medical exam, but no such requirement exists for the private flight.
Arceneaux said she is not scared and has been medically cleared for the trip.
The 29-year-old said she loves to travel and had hoped to fly to all the continents before reaching age 30 later this year. Instead, she will head to space on a journey that will bring her full circle to the hospital that gave her such hope as a child.
"We are going to try to set up a video call with the St. Jude kids while I'm in space," she said excitedly. "Kids are so visual and I hope that them being able to see me in space really shows them what their future can look like. I'm the first St. Jude patient to go to space, the first pediatric cancer survivor, but I know I'm not going to be the last."
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