Hernan B

My name’s Hernan. I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia when I was 15; my Sophomore year was almost over and I was looking forward to summer. Instead I ended up in the hospital room, where the rest of my teenage rebellion would play out. I resented being treated like a kid and I was surrounded by crayon drawings and sock monkeys. They said I could bring music to play while I was getting radiation blasted at me, so I would try to bring the loudest most revolting punk or metal I could find.  When they finally let me loose, I was totally out of sync with everyone I knew. I wasn’t a kid, I wasn’t a teenager anymore, I didn’t fit anywhere… I swore that someday I would grow up and return to free my fellow prisoners.

In the course of sitting in isolation at the hospital and isolation at home, I fell in love with movies. So after I graduated from ‘Cancer High’ I went off to film school. From there, I moved on to build a professional career, and then right full circle to the subject of cancer. I started using my skills to tell the cancer stories of other survivors I’d meet. This led all the way to CANCER REBELLION – the feature film that I made with Teen Cancer America – that tells the story of what it’s like to be young and diagnosed with cancer in America, across all 50 states. Currently, I’m finding ways to continue the rebellion.

I know the work TCA does is important. I’ve heard its impact firsthand – not just from all the Teens and Young Adults (TYA) I’ve met across the country, but from my younger self. The young punk who would have had a much better time growing up if he’d known there were other teens somewhere out there, also knew what it was like to have cancer. If we can show them their strength, together, we could make it easier for them to choose the fight. Choose life. Choose Rebellion.