Marjory Stoneman Douglas High two-sport athlete beats cancer

For Courtney Heymach, cancer is a word she had only heard in movies.

But last year, on June 6, everything changed. Heymach – a flag football/girls’ soccer junior standout at Douglas High School – was diagnosed with Stage 2A Hodgkins Lymphoma, a blood cancer.

“I broke down in tears,” Heymach said. “I didn’t know how (cancer) was going to affect my life. How was it going to affect my sports?”

Fortunately for Heymach, this particular form of cancer has a 99-percent cure rate. Fortunately for Heymach, her disease was caught early. And fortunately for Heymach, her uncle is Dr. John V. Heymach, an oncologist who diagnoses, treats and manages care for cancer patients.

Dr. Heymach works at MD Anderson in Houston, where Courtney was treated.

“You have no idea how incredibly lucky we are,” said Pam Heymach, who is Courtney’s mother. “(Dr. Heymach) gives advice and guidance without causing panic. He gave Courtney strength and confidence that she would be fine.

“He was present for all of our first appointments, and he kept a watchful eye on everything. Not all superheroes wear capes, and he’s certainly our Superman.”

Courtney Heymach’s ordeal started last year in early May, when she noticed that the lymph nodes on her neck were “super inflamed.”

Her local doctor gave her antibiotics. But that didn’t work as the inflammation quickly spread to her collarbone.

After tests were performed, Heymach was told she had lymphadenitis, which means infected lymph nodes.

But Heymach – who has an impressive 4.8 grade-point average and aspires to become a dermatologist – “didn’t think that was accurate.”

Fortunately, Heymach was due to travel to California for a family wedding on May 25, and she knew her uncle John would be there.

Dr. Heymach ultimately advised the family to bring Courtney to Houston, where an excisional biopsy was ordered. Basically, a surgical procedure into Heymach’s neck was performed in order to get a comprehensive diagnostic examination, and that’s how her cancer was discovered.

Once Heymach finally had an accurate diagnosis, she endured eight infusions of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Heymach was considered cancer free on August 14, and she concluded chemotherapy on Sept. 22. Through it all, she didn’t miss soccer or football games at Douglas, and she was also able to attend her favorite annual event -- Camp Pontiac in upstate New York.

“It’s a seven-week summer camp that I’ve being going to since 2017,” Heymach said. “I consider those campers my second family. I begged my parents and my doctor to allow me to attend.”

Still, Heymach couldn’t participate in contact sports for four months.

When she finally got back on the soccer pitch in October, Heymach had to battle fatigue, which is a normal side effect following chemotherapy.

Heymach – who turns 17 on Feb. 27 – now feels 100 percent, and she has created her own non-profit foundation, “Chapter Unwritten”, which supports pediatric cancer patients, survivors and research.

The foundation has already raised more than $16,000 through donations and merchandise sales. The goal, Pam Heymach said, is to make a large donation at the end of the year to a research grant for pediatric cancer at MD Anderson.

“Courtney did not want to be defined by her diagnosis,” Pam said. “(Cancer) will only be a chapter in what is going to be (Courtney’s) incredible and purposeful life.”

Douglas flag football coach Christian Baldwin raves about Heymach’s selflessness, and he also admits he was “shocked” when he found out she had cancer.

“It hit close to home,” Baldwin said, “because my daughter (Megan) had cancer when she was 12. My daughter is now 38, and she’s fine, but I knew that throughout the process it was important to stay upbeat.

“Fighting cancer is a mindset. Cancer doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, black, white or green. It comes and gets you, and it’s important to have positive support.”

Heymach has had plenty of that, and now she’s back to doing what she loves, balancing school with her two sports, which isn’t easy since she has been a starter in soccer and football since her freshman year.

In soccer, Heymach is a winger/defender. In football, she plays receiver, running back, linebacker and rusher.

Heymach is relatively new to flag football, picking up the sport when her family moved from New York to Parkland in August of 2021. Last year, Heymach led Douglas’ flag football team to a 13-2 record, gaining 820 yards from scrimmage and scoring 16 touchdowns.

So, which sport is her favorite?

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was four years old,” said Heymach, who is a New York Giants fan. “But I’ve grown to love flag football the most.”

Heymach said she’s leaning toward attending Florida State or Florida, and she could potentially play flag football as a club sport at either university.

Baldwin, though, sees positives in the growth of flag football – it’s already played in the annual Pro Bowl, and it will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028.

“If you would’ve told me 10 years ago that this is where we’re at, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Baldwin said. “I do think it will be a scholarship sport soon, and hopefully Courtney can get in on that.

“She’s an outstanding athlete and an outstanding person.”