STANTON, Mich. — A local student is helping kids fight cancer one step at a time. He’s hosting a walkathon, something he found motivating and therapeutic during his own battle with cancer, but also giving back to those who helped him along the way.
Connor Pung was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma last May.
“I had lots of coughing and I had a bloody nose, sometimes I would cough up just a little bit of blood, and I didn't really think anything of it,” said Pung.
Long hospital stays and chemotherapy became his new norm.
“That was really harsh on my body so I ended up losing my hair, and it just made it hard to think," said Pung.
He underwent treatment all while balancing school. He says it was difficult to complete homework. But during that difficult time, he relied on a simple pleasure to get him through— walking.
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“I walked a marathon and I did that for four out of the six rounds of chemotherapy,” said Pung.
He says the walking helped move the chemotherapy through his system, and kept him optimistic by focusing on a simple goal. Now a cancer survivor as of January of this year, he’s encouraging others to do the same. Hosting a walkathon at Montcalm High School that will benefit two organizations that helped him during his fight, The Big O and PORT.
“We provide some practical items to them; hygiene items, a soft fleece blanket, some Starbucks cards for mom and dad so they can go take a break and get a coffee, gas cards to help with transportation,” said Melissa Wittlinger, a member of the Pediatric Oncology Resource Team at Helen DeVos.
She met Pung on the eighth floor of the ICU when she gifted him and his family self care bags to help during that tough time. She says Pung was always passionate about helping others, even when he needed help.
“I was not surprised because of Connor and how much he inspired the entire floor and the time he spent at Helen DeVos, the nurses and other patients he got out walking on the floor and got other patients out walking around the unit,” said Wittlinger.
Now that he’s beat cancer, he wants to help others do the same by supporting those who gave him hope during his fight.
“It feels really good, the organization's helped me so much and I wanted to kind of be able to have other kids have that same experience as well,” said Pung.
Pung will graduate as valedictorian of his high school and attend Grand Valley State University. The walkathon takes place Saturday from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at Central Montcalm High School.
