Triumphant return: Vermilion's Cam Colahan is back doing what she loves ... playing sports ... after cancer fight

Surrounded by 10 medical professionals and her parents, Cam Colahan got the news no teenager should ever have to hear. She had Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma — a form of soft-tissue cancer. The diagnosis came in October 2018. She was told the disease was beatable, but Colahan faced an uphill battle of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Colahan's parents were, understandably, concerned for her life. Colahan had something else on her mind. "She looked at the oncologist and said, 'Does this mean I can't play basketball?' That was her first question," said Aimee Colahan, Cam's mother. "Her dad and I were sitting there processing the prognosis of cancer, Cam was sitting there processing the diagnosis that she can't play sports at that point. That was basically all she was thinking about." The doctors said no to basketball. Her second question: "What about volleyball?" While the doctors again had to let her down softly, Colahan was able to beat the cancer in time for the 2019 volleyball season. And now, 13 months after the initial diagnosis, the junior is ready to step back on the basketball court for Vermilion. She's healthy, she's practicing and, once her body gets back to full strength, she's hoping to contribute. "It's a motivation, just seeing her on the court," senior forward McKinley Shreve said. "It makes me so happy because as a freshman she did so well on varsity. We were expecting her to be back and in the starting rotation. It was kind of a buzzkill last year, so seeing her back is really heartwarming." JUST A BUMP When Colahan first discovered a bump on the inside crease of her left leg, it didn't seem like anything serious. It wasn't even visible, it just felt … off. Everything else felt normal, though, until that little bump became more irritable. By the beginning of October, it felt more like a hard knot and was getting bigger. At the same time, it was harder for her to sit. When a deep-tissue massage failed to alleviate the pain, the Colahans went to the doctor. The initial thought was that it was a cyst, but the pediatric professionals didn't take any chances and ordered an ultrasound. That led to an MRI, then a biopsy, then a CAT scan. And as the bump grew more irritable, so did their concern. Everything came to a head Oct. 18 when the doctor called Aimee and said Colahan needed to be admitted into the hospital that day. That night, however, Vermilion volleyball was playing Norwalk in the sectional championship. Aimee convinced the doctors to let Colahan play, agreeing to take her to the hospital immediately after the match. Colahan played with older sister Madison for what became their last varsity match together. Vermilion lost in three sets. Days later, she was diagnosed. "You find yourself focusing on a play, seeing what's going on, and then there's downtime and you go back to all the 'what-ifs' and 'what's going to happen,'" said Brett Colahan, Cam's father. "It was an emotional roller coaster between each play." ROAD BACK Colahan began chemotherapy Nov. 1. During the first week of the month, she'd do a full day of chemo and then have about 10 days for her blood cells to recover. She'd return in the third week for chemo every day and repeat that cycle for three months. She was on a combination of five drugs. For the radiation treatment, the family took her to Houston for 28 rounds, ultimately staying there from mid-February until mid-April. Colahan was eligible for proton therapy, which is a more precise form of radiation treatment used on tumors that are in vulnerable areas because it can pinpoint the exact spot. When she returned home, she went back on the original chemo cycle for another three months. The cancer responded to the chemo quickly, as the tumor shrunk to 2.5 centimeters from 9.5 after the first cycle. In August, Colahan's scans came back clean and she was cleared to play volleyball. "It was a relief getting back into the things I used to do and wasn't able to do during treatment," she said. "It was nice being able to do volleyball and get back into doing sports." This form of cancer is aggressive and requires repeated treatment, according to Aimee. Once Colahan finished the radiation cycles, she began a regimen of maintenance chemo — a six-month cycle in which she takes a pill every day and visits the hospital three Tuesdays a month. "These are some of the most nerve-wracking days," Aimee said. "It almost feels like you breathe in three-month increments. You exhale when you get clean scans, and then you slowly start holding your breath until those three months are up and you start having those scans again." The Colahans can exhale. The most recent scans came back clean last week. SQUARE ONE Getting back on the floor was a big first step. Getting back to the player she was will take time. "You can't go through what she went through and pick right back up where you left off," Aimee said. "It was very hard to watch her basically have to start over again with her physical capabilities. "She's grateful just to start practicing again and be part of the team, to be able to play and not just watch. But when you know how important being part of high school sports is to your child, and you know that they're missing out on things they can never get back, that's heartbreaking." Shreve and senior guard Clara Smith didn't hesitate when describing Colahan's strength as a freshman — rebounding. Coach Jason Sockel, who is in his first season leading the girls team but was previously an assistant with the boys program and has known Colahan since she was 5 years old, said she was expected to have a large role on varsity last year after seeing time as a freshman. Colahan's journey has inspired her teammates. "I know if I'm in pain, she's probably in a lot more pain than I am," Smith said. Sockel credits Colahan for helping the team create a strong culture. He added that she doesn't want to be treated any differently and will work with the junior varsity until she's physically ready to move back up. If history is any indication, it won't take long. "She'll probably come off the bench this year, but if you told me at the end of the year she'd be starting for us, it would not surprise me at all because of her resilience and drive to be the best she can be," Sockel said. Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeneyCT on Twitter.