She had a 2% chance of surviving cancer. She's now a college graduate and set to embark on an art career
When she was 8, Hollyn Peterson was told she only had a 2 percent chance to live.
The Waukesha native's cancer was in all four lobes of her lungs. There was nothing else the doctors could do, they told her and her parents, Dale and Jennifer Peterson.
She recalled saying: "I am not ready to die. I have more to do here."
Her cancer — called Wilms' tumor, a kidney cancer primarily affecting children — spread to her lungs at age 7, but she beat it with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
When she was first diagnosed at age 5, Peterson recalls the beginnings of art in her cancer journey as she angrily scribbled with markers on her mother's arms, yelling.
She then had a kidney removed along with a "Nerf ball-size tumor" in her stomach. Afterwards, she brought light to others by doing crafts, drawing and making cards for the other kids on her hospital floor.
Now, Peterson who turns 23 on June 22, is embarking on her art career.
She graduated May 13 from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a degree in fine arts with an emphasis in painting ― she was the student commencement speaker ― and will have a teaching licensure. She is slated to attend the Master of Fine Arts program at Syracuse University this fall.
Since age 7, Peterson has been sharing her inspirational story at fundraisers, medical facilities and at events. She even talked to doctors on what they could do better for cancer patients. She has provided more awareness to childhood cancer.
Through her speeches and her artwork series, The Art of Alleviation, she shares her story hoping to help others with challenges and to appreciate life.
When doctors didn't have the answers, Peterson knew she'd have to do it for herself
When her cancer returned at age 8 for the third time, Peterson's parents researched every doctor and hospital to save her. But she was turned away from many prominent research and medical facilities.
Some said, "there is no point" or "there is no treatment," said Peterson. But finally, they found a doctor in California who agreed to do a bone marrow stem cell transplant, which had never been tried before for her kind of cancer. And even they were not optimistic.
"It was like, 'here is an option, I guess,'" she recalled. "It was like a shot in the dark. It was completely experimental."
She was realizing the doctors did not always have the medical answers to know how to get rid of her pain. Despite having a medical team, she knew she had to fight by herself.
It's something she said she's dealt with her since her diagnosis. She has lingering side effects from her cancer treatment, including lung, endocrine and gastrointestinal issues and post-traumatic stress disorder. She sees a cardiologist every other year to monitor any damaging effects left from her chemotherapy.
"I will do it myself," she titled one of her art pieces that chronicles the years of pain without receiving any relief and answers.
For the experimental treatment, her doctor in California worked with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa where she spent 50 days getting treatment.
"I was sick in every possible way," Peterson said.
At one point she had no white blood cells, felt pain in every part of her body, and had heavy doses of drugs and medication which caused severe side effects. "I never felt worse in my entire life," she said.
But she survived.
"It was a miracle," she said.
Peterson almost gave up on school because she wasn't sure she'd live past middle school
The phase, "I will do it myself," guided her success.
She has lung issues from treatment that cause breathing problems in certain weather conditions, at higher elevations or during strenuous activity such as running. "I can do it, but I feel it afterwards," she said.
Despite this, she earned her black belt in tae kwon do in 2011. And in 2021, she participated in the "Over the Edge" rappelling event at the Wintrust Commercial Bank in Milwaukee, where she rappelled off a 10-story building to raise more than $4,000 for childhood cancer.
She wanted to give up on school because she was not sure she would live past middle school. She ended up missing more than 650 days of school due to her cancer.
"I would silently cry at my desk, hiding in the bathroom to avoid going to class (because she was behind in school)," she said in her commencement speech. But she caught up.
In college, with the support from the likes of the UW-Whitewater Center for Students with Disabilities and the art department, she worked hard to overcome it all.
Then she suffered another setback her junior year in college. She had to undergo major surgery, causing her to miss much of her second semester.
But she persevered and graduated college with a 4.0 GPA.
"Despite all of it, I am somehow here," she said.
'Making every day count, finding joy and sharing it'
When Peterson was a student at Waukesha West High School and took art classes, her teacher, Katie Acker, was stunned at how good she was.
You need to do art and go to college and major in art, Acker emphasized.
"She was just stellar," Acker said. "You can tell this was her passion, and she needed to do this."
But Peterson was adamant that college was not in the cards for her. She said she was not able to plan her future due to cancer. "Even in high school, it was hard to picture life beyond a few months," she said. "When I was 5, things kept getting turned upside down, so I learned to live day by day."
Fourteen years ago, the doctors said she had "no evidence of the disease."
But this does not mean her future is certain.
"My doctors never declared me cancer free, although there was no evidence of disease, because they assumed the cancer would return so I have never gotten that reassurance," she said. She added that if the same cancer does not return, she may be more likely to get another kind of cancer.
But she came to realize that there are no guarantees in life: "How can I do the things I love?" She has turned art that became a distraction and something that she loved, into her career.
“I plan on making every day count by finding joy and sharing it," she said.
Peterson wants to teach her students about art, and about life
When Peterson teaches art to students at Waukesha West High School as part of her student teaching role, Acker ― now her cooperating teacher ― is amazed at how Peterson connects with the students. Soon after Peterson begins working with them in the morning, they are soon laughing and sharing stories.
"She does a good job of engaging with them and pushing them with art projects," Acker said. "The dynamic is amazing."
Peterson said she wants to share what art has done for her with children and adults; she plans on teaching.
"Something I found very important is that art is tapping into the emotion, telling a story through artwork and another way of communication," said Peterson. "It is healing you cannot get elsewhere."
She added that art is a great outlet and a way to start a conversation around sensitive topics.
"I want to guide students toward compassion, self-discovery and their interests so that one day they can give back to the world with their passions, knowledge and kindness," she said.
"As much as I want to teach my students about art, I want to teach them about life."
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Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hollyn Peterson overcame cancer to graduate from UW-Whitewater
