Yahoo Lifestyle Teen Cancer Survivor Set Her Sights on Becoming a Marine. Now She’s Weeks Away from Bootcamp (Exclusive)
"Life doesn't end when they tell you, 'You have cancer,' it keeps on going," Britney Moyeda, 18, tells PEOPLE
Courtesy of Texas Childrens Hospital
Britney MoyedaEver since she was a young girl, Britney Moyeda had her sights set on joining the Marine Corps. Now, years after surviving cancer, she's just weeks away from starting bootcamp.
“I’m very excited," Moyeda, now 18, tells PEOPLE. "It’s something to be proud of – because I can actually prove to other kids that had cancer that they can do whatever they want in life and nothing can stop them.”
When Moyeda was in 5th grade, she saw a classmate’s father at graduation in his Marine Corps uniform. “I thought that was really cool,” she says. She decided then that she eventually wanted to enlist.
But a year later, when she was 12, Moyeda got sick.
She remembers taking a nap after school, and when she woke up, she couldn’t stand. “I fell,” she says. “Half of my body wasn’t working.”
She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on May 25, 2018.
“When they first told me I had cancer, I cried. And then I told my mom everything was gong to be fine,” she says. “I knew it was going to be fine – I just felt it. I wasn’t scared.”
Courtesy of Texas Childrens Hospital
Britney Moyeda and her mom in the Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center in 2018Related: Micro-Preemie Was Born Weighing Less Than 2 Lbs. Soon She’ll Be a Nurse at NICU That Saved Her Life
Britney went through 15 cycles of chemotherapy and 11 different medications, and multiple blood transfusions. After years of treatment, she rang the bell being declared cancer-free at Texas Children’s Hospital on September 7, 2020.
She was also still determined to become a Marine.
“I think that's really great, that she's been through everything that she's been through with her cancer treatment and has been able to make it through that and focus on a long-term goal like joining the Marines and serving our country,” says Dr. Tim Porea, Texas Children’s Hospital pediatric oncologist and retired U.S. Navy Captain.
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But first, Texas Children’s had to send her medical records to recruiters.
“You should have seen, it was like a thick book of paperwork that I had to give away to the Marines. It was like 1,000, almost 2,000 pages of paperwork for my cancer treatments,” says Moyeda.
Courtesy of Texas Childrens Hospital
Britney Moyeda and one of her younger sisters in 2018When it came time to attend physical training sessions, Moyeda showed up and did more — and worked harder — than the others.
“If they needed something I would automatically go get whatever they needed as fast as I could,” she says. “I put in extra effort and they saw the effort that I wanted to join."
Ultimately, she shares that recruiters, her sergeant and her gunny sergeant worked to help her meet her dream. “They didn’t stop until they got me to it,” she adds.
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Still, as she prepared to graduate from Angleton High School on May 24, 2024, Moyeda made sure she had some options "just in case I didn’t make it into the Marine Corps."
As a back-up plan, the teen — who is also a part of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center's Long-Term Survivor Program — earned certificates in welding, floral design, culinary arts and earned a CNA certificate.
Courtesy of Texas Childrens Hospital
Britney Moyeda with her parents after her cancer treatment in 2020Fortunately, after spending the summer in Mexico visiting family, Moyeda is set to leave for bootcamp on Aug. 26.
“I’m a little scared, I’m a little excited,” Moyeda tells PEOPLE. "I’m a little bit of everything."
But most importantly, she's ready to face whatever life has in store for her — and she wants other kids who have gone through cancer to feel the same. She says, “Life does not end when they tell you, 'You have cancer,' it keeps on going."
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