From Survivor to Astronaut: Hayley’s Journey

When Hayley received an unexpected call inviting her to join the crew, she was working as a physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. She immediately phoned her mother.

“I told my mom, ‘This is going to be so big for kids with cancer. We are going to be able to provide so much hope. Kids all around the world will see someone like them touch the stars and see that the sky is truly not the limit for them — that they can achieve their dreams,’” she says.

The Fight of Her Life

At age 10, Hayley was not thinking about a mission to space. She was focused on earning her black belt in taekwondo. When her left knee started to hurt, her pediatrician thought it might be an overuse injury from her training.

“A few days later my mom noticed I was limping. I had a visible tumor above the knee,” she says. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma the next day.

“I didn’t know the word ‘osteosarcoma.’ But I knew the word ‘cancer,’ and everyone I had known with cancer had died,” she says. “I kept saying over and over, ‘I don’t want to die.’”

Hayley started a year of treatment that included chemotherapy, limb-sparing surgery, and a lot of physical therapy. During those long days in the hospital, she found ways to connect with others.

“I would thank everyone who was donating blood products, make them hand-drawn cards and tell them if I didn’t get blood and platelets I would shrivel up. When I was inpatient, I would put on a dance show with my friend who also had bone cancer,” she says. “Distraction was very helpful. Those little jobs were a way for me to focus on helping people rather than thinking about how miserable it was to be a patient.”

Although going through cancer treatment was difficult, it helped her find her purpose. “I knew I wanted to come back and work at the hospital that saved my life,” she says.

A Career Helping Children with Cancer

Almost 20 years later, Hayley landed her dream job, working as a physician assistant for children with cancer.

Hayley does not always share with her patients that she had cancer, but she will bring it up if she thinks it will encourage them or their families. “I like to share with patients who are newly diagnosed, because I can tell them I know how overwhelming and scary it is, but that they are going to be OK and having cancer will make them who they are meant to be. I try to give them hope that they will be able to live out their dreams,” she says.

She thinks her own osteosarcoma story helps her be better at her job. “I have more empathy for the patient experience. It has made me a more compassionate and dedicated care provider,” she says.

Hayley also has firsthand experience as a family member of someone with cancer. She lost her father to kidney cancer, and she says it gave her empathy for what a patient’s family goes through. “I always thought I had the hard part. I was the one who had cancer. Then I saw when you are in that other role, how much you want to take away their suffering,” she says.

A Path That Leads to Space

It was through her work and experience that Hayley got the opportunity to complete a mission to space. The mission was a fundraiser for St. Jude’s, and as a former osteosarcoma patient and current employee, she was a top choice to represent the hospital.

Hayley says her mission to space was a life-changing experience: “Seeing the earth from space is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was awe-inspiring. But showing kids that they can still dream big after cancer was the real purpose.”

She served as the medical officer, and as part of her training she had to climb a mountain. “As an osteo survivor, that felt impossible. I would have said I could not climb mountains, but it was mandatory. So, I took one step after another until I accomplished it,” she says.

Hayley’s Mission to Space Offers a New Perspective

Hayley points out that when you are going through cancer treatment, it is easy to become focused on the day-to-day, such as taking your medication and going to your appointments, but her journey to space reminded her how important it is to keep the bigger picture in view.