Wickersham Found to Have More Cancer

After an exhausting and apparently successful 10-month battle against cancer, Wendell Wickersham had planned to resume classes full time this week at La Habra High School.

Instead, Wickersham canceled his plans after receiving confirmation Monday from the USC-Norris Cancer Institute in Los Angeles that a growth on his hip had been diagnosed as cancer.

“It’s back,” Wickersham said. “I thought I’d only have to go through this once, but now it looks like I’ll have to do it again.”

Wickersham, 18, was taken to Norris after the growth appeared two weeks ago.

Wickersham, who was first-team All-Freeway League in basketball his junior season, was found to have cancer in March, 1991.

During the next 10 months, Wickersham underwent major surgery, a bone marrow transplant, two types of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Wickersham has a rare form of cancer called embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma , which usually afflicts children aged 2 to 6. The cure rate is about 60% to 80%, but it often much lower for older victims, according to Dr. John Daniels, an oncologist at Norris.

“At first I thought it was an inflamed lymph node,” Wickersham said of his latest symptom. “Hopefully, they’ll get it this time. I still have hope, but it’s real discouraging.”

Since concluding treatments in December, Wickersham has been a mainstay at La Habra practices and games for basketball, baseball and softball. He will be an honorary member of the North team at the annual Orange County North-South all-star basketball game April 25 at Cypress College.

“I don’t know if I’ll make it to the all-star game,” Wickersham said. “I don’t know what’s in the future. They haven’t hit me with the hard stuff yet.”