Senior cross country captain Justin Spoon and I sat down in the Air90 station in early September to do a pre-season interview. We chatted about his beginnings in cross country, through high school, and up to his senior season of college. Defeats and goals were chatted about, specifically conference and national meet.
Spoon had appeared every year in the River States Conference meet, but this year he did not want to just appear. He wanted to win.
The next couple of months of meets were full of first-place finishes and honors at all levels.
But conference and national meet were replaced by a different race he would have to run: cancer.
Spoon was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). According to the Mayo Clinic, “RMS is a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissue.” RMS is considered a pediatric cancer, but can affect any age person.
“He seemed very at peace with the news,” said senior teammate John Bowling. “Obviously, cancer is always going to be scary, however, Justin’s grounded faith allowed him to accept the news without an excessive amount of worry or fear. That’s something I really admire about him.”
Spoon was diagnosed fairly quickly as an inexplicable lump was removed and sent through pathology with the help of Lexington Clinic and University of Kentucky’s Children’s Hospital Oncology unit.
“I had been with him at three of his medical appointments the week of conference so when he wanted to talk, I already knew there was the possibility of it being something serious,” said head cross country coach, Randy Crist.
Spoon shared his diagnosis with the team that week of conference. Unable to race himself, Spoon cheered and watched his teammates race that weekend of Nov. 7. The men’s team showed its support for Spoon by sporting neon green headbands, like the one Spoon typically wears at meets.
As the fall semester ended, treatment plans began. Things fell into place for Spoon to be treated at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, about an hour and a half from his home in Columbus, Indiana. Treatment for RMS is serious chemotherapy and future radiation treatments, which will take about ten months.
While these treatments began over Christmas break for Spoon, the cross country team was hard at work organizing a 24-hour livestream fundraiser. The livestream raised over $10,000.
“Chemotherapy takes such a hit to your immune system, so potentially battling COVID-19 and chemo at the same time is a recipe for disaster,” said Bowling. “He’s had to isolate fairly religiously because of the risk.” This has kept Spoon remote for his final semester of college.
“Keep Justin in the loop about things going on at Asbury,” said Crist. “Even though he is at home, he is still a student here and looking forward to graduating this spring. He is so invested in campus life that he will enjoy hearing about his teammates, his classmates, and the usual campus happenings.”
The Spoon family also needs financial support as they tackle expenses for traveling to treatment, treatment and other unforeseeable expenses. Money raised for him will not only support treatment now but also Spoon’s future treatments down the road that may not be covered by insurance. Right now, about $37,000 of the $200,000 goal has been met.
“Cancer is an unexpected twist in his path, but I’ve seen him emerge victorious in difficult situations before,” said Crist. “He will fight and win, and this will be a part of his testimony in years to come.”
Visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/justinrms to donate to Justin Spoon’s fight against RMS.
