Bennett's academy: Redwings cancer
survivor supports group that aided him
Plans game day fundraiser for foundation Sept. 26
By Matt Le Cren
Benet junior Bennett Curtis is the picture of youthful vitality as he competes on the soccer field, shouting instructions and encouragement to his teammates.
But it wasn’t always that way.
Curtis was in eighth grade when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
Thus began a harrowing and ultimately successful journey in which he received help from the Shining Stars Foundation, a Colorado-based charity that now has a rather devout local spokesman in the 16-year-old Curtis.
The illness was first discovered during a regular doctors visit.
“I didn’t have any symptoms,” Curtis said. “I had a lump on my neck, so I went to the doctor for a normal checkup. And they noticed it and was like, ‘What is that?’ We got a biopsy and got it removed.”
Curtis received the shocking result November 14, 2012 – he will never forget the date – and began a battle no child should have to fight.
“I didn’t know what to say, because I didn’t feel sick,” Curtis said. “Usually when you think of somebody with cancer, you think that they’re very sick, in the hospital.
“I was one of the healthiest kids. I was out there playing soccer.”
Soccer is a Curtis family passion and, as it helped Bennett during his fight. He has been in remission for 2½ years.
Curtis’ father, Jim, played soccer in college and all four of his children took up the sport.
Daughter Emily played at Benet and is continuing her career at Illinois Wesleyan. Another daughter, Abby, is a seventh-grader and Bennett’s younger brother, Nate, is a sophomore at Benet who recently stopped playing.
“That was one of my biggest concerns was ‘Am I going to be able to play?’” Curtis said. “Obviously soccer was the biggest consistency for me when I was battling that.”
The fight was far from easy.
Curtis underwent nine weeks of chemotherapy at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital, followed by 14 days of radiation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. That treatment, along with the fact the cancer was detected fairly early, allowed Curtis to be declared cancer-free in March, 2013.
“It was Stage 2A, which is one of the rarest stages to catch that because you’re not showing any symptoms yet,” Curtis said. “I’m in remission. Once you’ve reached that two-year mark, then you are just as likely to get it as anyone else.”
While Curtis is relieved that his ordeal is over, he realizes that his battle with cancer changed him.
“I definitely have a different perspective on life,” said Curtis, who has blood tests every six months to check for cancer. “It has absolutely made me a lot stronger. Just coming out here every day and playing this game is a blessing.”
Soccer played a big role in his recovery.
“He’s a fighter,” Jim Curtis said. “Through all the treatments he never stopped playing, couldn’t stop playing.
“The doctors wanted to put a port in his chest to deliver the medication so he wouldn’t have to get IV after IV. He said no because you can’t play with a port because of the danger of a hemorrhage. So he got IVs instead.”
Though he couldn’t play in matches, Curtis participated in indoor training when he could.
“He was in a weakened state, obviously,” Jim said. “It was difficult for him to play but he kept going out.”
Through it all, Curtis was buoyed by the support of his father and mother, Debbie, who were scared but steadfast.
“Obviously, my parents are phenomenal,” Curtis said. “They love me and I love them.
“My mom woke me up every morning and took me to the hospital. That’s what love is. She cared for me. They’re the best parents I could ever ask for, and then here at Benet the support is phenomenal.”
Debbie deflects such credit.
“I was just the driver,” Debbie said. “He’s the one who had to go through it. I was next to him, but I couldn’t do it for him. Everyone came together and found a lot of faith.”
The family also found support from the Shining Stars Foundation, which was established in 2001 to provide athletic opportunities for sick children.
Shortly after Bennett completed treatment, Shining Stars offered to send him on a trip to Aspen for its 2013 Winter Games, where he would spend a week skiing with 50 other kids from around the country with life-threatening illnesses. Volunteer chaperones would fly with him, but his parents would stay home.
Debbie Curtis, wary of letting her son out of her sight, was opposed at first.
“We were approached in the hospital about this opportunity for him to go on this trip, and I initially said 'No, he’s missed so much school, he doesn’t need it,'” she said. “Then one day he was having a really hard day, and he looked at me and said, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to have cancer.’
“And he was completely right. I wasn’t going through it, and I talked to Jim about it and said, ‘I think this is exactly the type of trip he needs.’
“(Bennett) went out there, and every kid had cancer and was bald or walking around with disabilities. They do paraskiing for disabled people.
“A lot of these kids aren’t physically active, and they have activities and therapies for them. It was a really amazing program, and he needed to be around people who were going through it.”
The experience was an eye-opener for Bennett.
“It was life-changing for me because when you have it really bad, you go there and see kids who have it so much worse,” said Bennett, who was cared for by volunteer doctors and nurses during his stay. “Some of these kids are going out there and don’t have an arm or don’t have a leg. They have a smile on their face, just happy to be alive and happy to be there, and it just gives you so much hope.”
Now Curtis wants to make sure other children have hope. He is determined to help the Shining Stars in any way he can.
One way he will is through an event he organized to raise awareness and funds for the organization. It takes place Saturday, Sept. 26, when Benet hosts Notre Dame.
Both teams will wear special T-shirts during warm-ups and Curtis plans to speak prior to the start of the 10 a.m. game. Informational brochures will be handed out and donations accepted.
“After I had been cleared I started to think about ways that I could help others who have gone through what I’ve gone through because everyone who has gone through that, needs help,” Curtis said. “This was, I thought, a great way to do it.”
Others are impressed and appreciative of Curtis’ efforts.
“Bennett is a truly inspirational young man and has such a big heart,” said Megan Bryant, Director of Development at Shining Stars. “He has envisioned this entire fundraiser from the ground up, and we could not be more proud.
“When we first met Bennett in 2013 at our Winter Games Program, he was a role model and mentor for other kids and has continued to use his experiences to impact and help others. His example inspires other kids battling cancer, helping them realize all they can accomplish and overcome.
“Other children in our programs will see him doing this event and being a leader among his peers and realize 'I can do that.'”
That impact will be substantial. Bryant said that the foundation has served more than 1,750 kids and 5,500 family members over the past 15 years and that demand for its services is increasing.
“This event is significant to the foundation, as we are experiencing growing wait lists for our programs, despite having expanded our services by 25 percent in the last year,” Bryant said. “Funds raised will help us serve new kids in the coming year, many of whom are just starting their battle with cancer.
“Bennett is paying it forward in a big way, and his selflessness will have a life-long impact for so many of his peers. It is kids like Bennett, and our generous supporters, that allow us to put over 90 percent of every dollar spent directly into our programs and services.”
Benet coach Sean Wesley is one of many people inspired by Curtis.
“He’s a great player, great kid, good leader, super serious about the game,” Wesley said. “I knew he had gone through something serious but only really learned about his story when we were talking about him playing in college. I said, ‘Hey, give me your background.’
“That’s when he kind of shared his experience and how soccer is such a big part of his life. It was one of those things where you read it and you’re like, ‘This is exactly why I coach high school soccer,’ because you get to be around kids like that, that have hearts like that.’”
To be sure, Curtis is serious about soccer and giving back to those who helped him, but he has never lost his sense of humor. When the Redwings were losing a big game last year, Curtis piped up before Wesley began his halftime speech.
“He’s a motivator and he said funny stuff like, ‘I didn’t beat cancer so we’d lose this game,’” Wesley recalled. “Coach never (had) to say another word. It puts things in perspective.”
It is one thing to hear about the challenges that other people go through, but quite another to experience it yourself.
“We’ve all been touched by this by walking through the treatments,” Jim Curtis said. “That’s one of the reasons why Bennett wants to do this Shining Stars event, because there’s just so many caring people out there (who) really surround us with support and faith.”
Bennett Curtis is now one of those caring folks who support those around them, regardless of whether they are healthy or ailing.
“He has a huge heart and just the way he treats all his friends and all his teammates is awesome,” Wesley said. “He’s selfless to go through (cancer) and be worried about everybody else and so willing to do kind of the dirty work (of fundraising).
“It seems like now he’s in that position where he’s looking back on it and saying, ‘Ok, now what can I do to give back.’ ... We hope to build on it.”
survivor supports group that aided him
Plans game day fundraiser for foundation Sept. 26
By Matt Le Cren
Benet junior Bennett Curtis is the picture of youthful vitality as he competes on the soccer field, shouting instructions and encouragement to his teammates.
But it wasn’t always that way.
Curtis was in eighth grade when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
Thus began a harrowing and ultimately successful journey in which he received help from the Shining Stars Foundation, a Colorado-based charity that now has a rather devout local spokesman in the 16-year-old Curtis.
The illness was first discovered during a regular doctors visit.
“I didn’t have any symptoms,” Curtis said. “I had a lump on my neck, so I went to the doctor for a normal checkup. And they noticed it and was like, ‘What is that?’ We got a biopsy and got it removed.”
Curtis received the shocking result November 14, 2012 – he will never forget the date – and began a battle no child should have to fight.
“I didn’t know what to say, because I didn’t feel sick,” Curtis said. “Usually when you think of somebody with cancer, you think that they’re very sick, in the hospital.
“I was one of the healthiest kids. I was out there playing soccer.”
Soccer is a Curtis family passion and, as it helped Bennett during his fight. He has been in remission for 2½ years.
Curtis’ father, Jim, played soccer in college and all four of his children took up the sport.
Daughter Emily played at Benet and is continuing her career at Illinois Wesleyan. Another daughter, Abby, is a seventh-grader and Bennett’s younger brother, Nate, is a sophomore at Benet who recently stopped playing.
“That was one of my biggest concerns was ‘Am I going to be able to play?’” Curtis said. “Obviously soccer was the biggest consistency for me when I was battling that.”
The fight was far from easy.
Curtis underwent nine weeks of chemotherapy at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital, followed by 14 days of radiation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. That treatment, along with the fact the cancer was detected fairly early, allowed Curtis to be declared cancer-free in March, 2013.
“It was Stage 2A, which is one of the rarest stages to catch that because you’re not showing any symptoms yet,” Curtis said. “I’m in remission. Once you’ve reached that two-year mark, then you are just as likely to get it as anyone else.”
While Curtis is relieved that his ordeal is over, he realizes that his battle with cancer changed him.
“I definitely have a different perspective on life,” said Curtis, who has blood tests every six months to check for cancer. “It has absolutely made me a lot stronger. Just coming out here every day and playing this game is a blessing.”
Soccer played a big role in his recovery.
“He’s a fighter,” Jim Curtis said. “Through all the treatments he never stopped playing, couldn’t stop playing.
“The doctors wanted to put a port in his chest to deliver the medication so he wouldn’t have to get IV after IV. He said no because you can’t play with a port because of the danger of a hemorrhage. So he got IVs instead.”
Though he couldn’t play in matches, Curtis participated in indoor training when he could.
“He was in a weakened state, obviously,” Jim said. “It was difficult for him to play but he kept going out.”
Through it all, Curtis was buoyed by the support of his father and mother, Debbie, who were scared but steadfast.
“Obviously, my parents are phenomenal,” Curtis said. “They love me and I love them.
“My mom woke me up every morning and took me to the hospital. That’s what love is. She cared for me. They’re the best parents I could ever ask for, and then here at Benet the support is phenomenal.”
Debbie deflects such credit.
“I was just the driver,” Debbie said. “He’s the one who had to go through it. I was next to him, but I couldn’t do it for him. Everyone came together and found a lot of faith.”
The family also found support from the Shining Stars Foundation, which was established in 2001 to provide athletic opportunities for sick children.
Shortly after Bennett completed treatment, Shining Stars offered to send him on a trip to Aspen for its 2013 Winter Games, where he would spend a week skiing with 50 other kids from around the country with life-threatening illnesses. Volunteer chaperones would fly with him, but his parents would stay home.
Debbie Curtis, wary of letting her son out of her sight, was opposed at first.
“We were approached in the hospital about this opportunity for him to go on this trip, and I initially said 'No, he’s missed so much school, he doesn’t need it,'” she said. “Then one day he was having a really hard day, and he looked at me and said, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to have cancer.’
“And he was completely right. I wasn’t going through it, and I talked to Jim about it and said, ‘I think this is exactly the type of trip he needs.’
“(Bennett) went out there, and every kid had cancer and was bald or walking around with disabilities. They do paraskiing for disabled people.
“A lot of these kids aren’t physically active, and they have activities and therapies for them. It was a really amazing program, and he needed to be around people who were going through it.”
The experience was an eye-opener for Bennett.
“It was life-changing for me because when you have it really bad, you go there and see kids who have it so much worse,” said Bennett, who was cared for by volunteer doctors and nurses during his stay. “Some of these kids are going out there and don’t have an arm or don’t have a leg. They have a smile on their face, just happy to be alive and happy to be there, and it just gives you so much hope.”
Now Curtis wants to make sure other children have hope. He is determined to help the Shining Stars in any way he can.
One way he will is through an event he organized to raise awareness and funds for the organization. It takes place Saturday, Sept. 26, when Benet hosts Notre Dame.
Both teams will wear special T-shirts during warm-ups and Curtis plans to speak prior to the start of the 10 a.m. game. Informational brochures will be handed out and donations accepted.
“After I had been cleared I started to think about ways that I could help others who have gone through what I’ve gone through because everyone who has gone through that, needs help,” Curtis said. “This was, I thought, a great way to do it.”
Others are impressed and appreciative of Curtis’ efforts.
“Bennett is a truly inspirational young man and has such a big heart,” said Megan Bryant, Director of Development at Shining Stars. “He has envisioned this entire fundraiser from the ground up, and we could not be more proud.
“When we first met Bennett in 2013 at our Winter Games Program, he was a role model and mentor for other kids and has continued to use his experiences to impact and help others. His example inspires other kids battling cancer, helping them realize all they can accomplish and overcome.
“Other children in our programs will see him doing this event and being a leader among his peers and realize 'I can do that.'”
That impact will be substantial. Bryant said that the foundation has served more than 1,750 kids and 5,500 family members over the past 15 years and that demand for its services is increasing.
“This event is significant to the foundation, as we are experiencing growing wait lists for our programs, despite having expanded our services by 25 percent in the last year,” Bryant said. “Funds raised will help us serve new kids in the coming year, many of whom are just starting their battle with cancer.
“Bennett is paying it forward in a big way, and his selflessness will have a life-long impact for so many of his peers. It is kids like Bennett, and our generous supporters, that allow us to put over 90 percent of every dollar spent directly into our programs and services.”
Benet coach Sean Wesley is one of many people inspired by Curtis.
“He’s a great player, great kid, good leader, super serious about the game,” Wesley said. “I knew he had gone through something serious but only really learned about his story when we were talking about him playing in college. I said, ‘Hey, give me your background.’
“That’s when he kind of shared his experience and how soccer is such a big part of his life. It was one of those things where you read it and you’re like, ‘This is exactly why I coach high school soccer,’ because you get to be around kids like that, that have hearts like that.’”
To be sure, Curtis is serious about soccer and giving back to those who helped him, but he has never lost his sense of humor. When the Redwings were losing a big game last year, Curtis piped up before Wesley began his halftime speech.
“He’s a motivator and he said funny stuff like, ‘I didn’t beat cancer so we’d lose this game,’” Wesley recalled. “Coach never (had) to say another word. It puts things in perspective.”
It is one thing to hear about the challenges that other people go through, but quite another to experience it yourself.
“We’ve all been touched by this by walking through the treatments,” Jim Curtis said. “That’s one of the reasons why Bennett wants to do this Shining Stars event, because there’s just so many caring people out there (who) really surround us with support and faith.”
Bennett Curtis is now one of those caring folks who support those around them, regardless of whether they are healthy or ailing.
“He has a huge heart and just the way he treats all his friends and all his teammates is awesome,” Wesley said. “He’s selfless to go through (cancer) and be worried about everybody else and so willing to do kind of the dirty work (of fundraising).
“It seems like now he’s in that position where he’s looking back on it and saying, ‘Ok, now what can I do to give back.’ ... We hope to build on it.”