'Best week of my life': Ogden High student marks 10 years cancer-free, nabs state soccer title

OGDEN — Last week, Gracie Litz, an Ogden High School senior, marked 10 years since her last treatment for cancer, just days after her soccer team won the 3A girl's state championship.

"Best week of my life, I guess," she said with a laugh.

Her mom, Brittany Litz, was a bit more contemplative, expressing a mix of relief and joy.

"It's kind of euphoric," she said. "It's just a really good feeling. She's in a good spot, and it's like moving on with life and applying for colleges."

Gracie, now 17, was diagnosed at the age of 5 with Stage 4 lymphoblastic lymphoma, a form of cancer of the white blood cells. After two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy, on Oct. 27, 2016, she rang the bell at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City that signifies the end of her last treatment. She hasn't relapsed in the 10 years since.

Still, there were many tough, uncertain moments. "I remember mostly just never feeling good, and being upset when I wasn't able to do things that, I guess, other people were. Like my siblings could go and do stuff, but I couldn't," Gracie said.

Even after she rang the bell, there was plenty of hand-wringing. "Every time she gets a fever or a lump or anything, you worry about it coming back," Brittany Litz said.

Now, though, it's like a weight has been lifted as Gracie moves past the shadow that cancer cast over her young life. Even reaching the five-year mark without a hiccup is a big milestone for cancer survivors, but her mom was counting the days down to the 10-year mark on Oct. 27 last week.

"It's kind of an informal thing," Gracie's mom said. "A lot of people consider the 10-year off treatment to be when you're cured."

For Gracie, her identity had been aligned with her battle with cancer, something she wants to leave behind.

"It means I'm finally done with this part of my life, I guess. I felt like it was a lot of my identity ... so being able to say that I'm cured and done with it, I feel like was a really big deal for my whole family," she said. "The whole thing affected us so much."

'A lot of joy'

Gracie is hardly the only child to have battled cancer. Whatever the case, her story underscores the impact such a diagnosis can have on a child and what it means to beat it back, particularly when you have most of your life in front of you.

Through it all, soccer was a constant for Gracie, homeschooled for two years while getting treatment due to her weakened condition. She played center back on the Ogden High School squad that beat Manti 2-1 on Oct. 24 to take the state 3A championship, the third title for the Ogden High girls team in the last four years.

"I just find a lot of joy in it," said Gracie, captain of the Ogden High team."I feel like I find a lot of fulfillment in it, and it's where I've also gained a lot of my best friends."

Indeed, photos of Gracie as she went through chemotherapy show a bald young girl running with teammates on the soccer pitch, seemingly oblivious to anything else.

"Everybody her whole life has told me, the entire time she's on the field, she's just smiling. Like you can tell she loves it," said her mom.