McKenzy Hupke, who was 23 years old at the time, was told she had Stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in March 2015.

Her doctors did not expect her to live long enough to graduate from college, but in May of 2022, she walked across the stage at Wagner College’s commencement to get her diploma.

Hupke said, “I had been through a lot to get to graduation, and if I hadn’t had an emergency brain surgery in March, I would have never made it to this May graduation.”

The seven-year journey.

Before the official diagnosis in 2015, her doctors thought the tumors were harmless, so Hupke had about ten procedures on her nose and ears to get rid of the tumors they thought were harmless.

After a lung biopsy and other tests, it was found that the lesions were cancerous.

Soon after she was told she had cancer, Hupke started getting chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering and a number of other treatments to fight it.

“It started with chemotherapy in 2015, then radiation therapy in 2016, and then a few surgeries here and there. Then I started immunotherapy, and after that and radiation in 2017, they thought I was in remission for a while,” Hupke said.

Hupke was in her second year of high school when she found out she had cancer. At the start of college, she was still getting treatment, but it was less intense than it had been in the past because doctors thought she was in remission.

In 2019, when Hupke was about to start her junior year of college, surgery showed that she had a relapse.

In the spring of 2021, when the cancer was getting worse, Hupke had her first brain surgery. Because of the tumors in her ears, she could hear only a little bit.

Hupke said, “I am a singer, so that was very upsetting, and my hearing loss was the biggest problem with my health…

by 2021, I couldn’t listen to music the same way, I couldn’t hear conversations the same way, and I had to constantly use an app to obtain subtitles.”

After Hupke’s first brain surgery, she started a new type of chemotherapy. A few months later, though, the tumors came back faster than anyone had expected. In August 2021, she went back to the hospital, where her surgeon and other doctors told her she should start receiving hospice care.

Hupke said, “I did not want to do that.”

College graduation was on Hupke’s list of things to do, and she planned to do everything she could to make sure she did it. Since hospice care wasn’t an option, she went back to radiation therapy, which is called a “Quad-Shot.”

After more radiation and chemotherapy, Hupke had her second brain surgery this past spring. She got better from it faster than anyone could have expected.

Since then, she has been getting different kinds of care over the past few months.

How important music and caring are

Hupke was first told she had cancer when she was sixteen. At the time, she was in high school for performing arts, where she studied singing and took part in theater.

Since she was told she had cancer, Hupke has used her love of music to express herself creatively.

“When she walked into my room, she told me that she had just gotten a phone call telling her that the tumor is indeed cancerous. This was fine with me because it answered a question we had been thinking about for a while.

“As soon as my mom left my room, I grabbed my guitar and started playing and singing,” said Hupke.

Hupke would sometimes go into the music room and sing while playing the piano during her chemo treatments at the hospital.

Hupke and her mother drove from their home in New Jersey to the hospital in New York City many times a week.

During these long car rides, they listened to music by Kelly Clarkson, Alanis Morissette, and other artists and sang along.

Hupke is also involved with The Frances Foundation, which is a group that helps children who are fighting cancer.

Since the first year after she was diagnosed, Hupke has performed at Galas and other events put on by The Frances Foundation. This has helped her get closer to the people who are part of the foundation.

The Frances Foundation named Hupke the 2021 Warrior of the Year when she was at her worst. She had lost most of her hearing and couldn’t use music to express herself.

Hupke said, “Getting to this event and being named Warrior of the Year meant a lot to me. I felt like I wasn’t giving as much as I could at an event like this, but I felt very honored.”

The Battle Goes On

At the time of her graduation, Hupke was doing so well that she didn’t need any doctor’s appointments or treatments for a few weeks. She was able to spend time with her family and friends and go to New York City instead.

Hupke continues to take each day as it comes. She is still confused about many parts of her health, but she is excited to see where her next adventure will take her.