Sarah Kaffenberger holds herself up on the monkey bars in a park near her home. It's been a long day, doing push-ups, sit-ups and other physical feats, but she smiles and tries to look cute for the People magazine cameras shooting her picture.
A three time triathlete, Kaffenberger is no stranger to a challenge. But People's interest in her extends far beyond her physical prowess. In 1993 and 1994, while most current Duke students spent their days battling the trials and tribulations of junior high school, Kaffenberger battled AML leukemia, a rare form of blood cancer, at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Both People and Dateline NBC will run features on Kaffenberger's story within the next month.
"I love to talk to people about it," Kaffenberger said, though "sometimes people feel uncomfortable asking questions."
In the beginning of eighth grade, Kaffenberger had a blood test after weeks of severe fatigue and bruising kept her from school and her favorite sport, softball. Sitting on the couch in her living room, she learned from her parents that she had leukemia.
"I was scared, but I didn't know what I was up against," Kaffenberger said. She checked into the hospital that day in September and didn't leave until the following May.
"When Sarah was first diagnosed, we were desperate for information and we would have loved to know a family who had been through [what] we were going to through," said Kaffenberger's mother Carol, who hopes public attention to her daughter's story will help families facing similar challenges.
After Kaffenberger's diagnosis, her family was tested to determine if any one of them would be a suitable donor for the bone marrow transplant she needed. Her older sister Jennifer, who was in college at the time, was a match.
"The transplant is the simplest thing in the procedure; for the patient it goes in just like a transfusion," said Dr. Paul Martin, an attending physician in the pediatric bone marrow transplant program at the University Medical Center. "The preparation, radiation or chemotherapy, is much more complicated."
Kaffenberger underwent four months of aggressive chemotherapy to kill the leukemia cells, empty out her bone marrow and suppress her immune system so that it would accept the stem cells doctors extracted from her sister's hip. She remained in the hospital while the transplanted cells recreated new, healthy bone marrow.
"I look back on it now as a positive time," said Kaffenberger, whose parents traded off days to stay with her during her hospitalization.
Kaffenberger and her mother, who took a leave of absence from her job, developed a daily routine. Sarah kept busy with physical therapy, visitors, television, her school work-and the computer and modem she received through a corporate partnership.
Kaffenberger was determined to not fall behind in her studies. In anticipation of moving forward with her class, she also ran a successful campaign for ninth grade class secretary from her hospital room.
"I made posters and wrote a speech that a friend delivered for me," she said.
In September, she began high school with the rest of her class. But in March, Kaffenberger was forced to withdraw from softball tryouts as a result of high fever and exhaustion.
She checked back into the hospital, and Kaffenberger still remembers the physical pain of hearing from the oncologist that the cancer had redeveloped and spread to her spinal column.
Her prospects were extremely grim: She could go home and live for a few weeks, undergo more chemo to extend her life a few months, or receive a second transplant-a procedure never before performed at that hospital. "In our hearts we were thinking there was no way she was going to make it," said her mother. "But there was no time to wallow in self-pity."
Ten days later she had her second transplant. She left the hospital in April and has been healthy since.
"When I was sick, it kind of became my identity. I almost introduced myself, as 'Hi, my name is Sarah, I've got cancer,'" she said. Getting involved in an advocacy group called Teens for Transplants eased Kaffenberger's transition back to a normal life.
She also began competing in triathlons. Her junior year, she competed in her first, where she collected money through sponsorship. "It seemed natural to raise money for cancer," she said.
Last year she completed her third triathlon and raised over $2,500 at Duke by discussing her cancer.
However, when she applied to colleges, she did not mention her illness on her applications.
"When Sarah first came [to Duke], she wanted to leave her cancer experiences behind and to be like everyone else," said her mother.
All in all, Kaffenberger now leads the typical busy life of a Duke undergraduate.
"The obstacles she encounters in daily life don't really seem like a big deal," said Trinity junior Betsy Lucas, one of her closest friends. "She loves to dance and often shakes her DC bootie on the frat dance floors. We go shopping, to [Alpha Omega Pi] mixers, on a few road trips to DC-the normal stuff!"
But Kaffenberger uses her experiences to help others in the community through service projects and the Best Buddies program in the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant program at the University Medical Center-where she now spends at least four hours a week with her buddy.
"Sarah can talk about how it felt when her hair fell out, when she was isolated and couldn't see friends, and when she couldn't eat her favorite foods," said Martin.
Lucas, one of the first people Kaffenberger opened up to, said she is an amazing friend and resource to families dealing with cancer. "She's passionate, energetic, an amazing listener and great source of hope for the families," she said.
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