{"674432":{"#nid":"674432","#data":{"type":"news","title":"One in a Million  ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the weeks after Commencement, Andrew Rogers, a master\u0027s medical physics candidate, will begin looking for a place to live in Texas for his residency, take a family vacation to Alaska, and return to his hometown of Augusta, Georgia, to pack for his big move.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut a busy travel schedule is nothing new for Rogers. Diagnosed with hepatoblastoma at the age of 3, he spent over a decade traveling between Augusta, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, with lengthy hospital stays in between, undergoing treatment for the rare childhood liver cancer.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGiven a prognosis with a \u0022one-in-a-million\u0022 chance of survival, Rogers had two liver transplants before the cancer spread to his lungs and brain. In total, he endured 50 surgeries before his 13th birthday, and it was during the countless trips to Atlanta that he dreamed of two things \u2014 attending Georgia Tech and making a difference for kids facing similar struggles.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUnlike chemotherapy or other procedures, Rogers found radiation therapy to be a painless experience, in part thanks to the radiation therapists administering the treatment.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022They may not have thought much of it at the time, but in those moments, by playing with me, making me laugh, making me a Spiderman radiation mask, they helped me forget \u2014 even for a second \u2014 that I had cancer and helped me enjoy life. I think about that every day. I hope to one day change a child\u0027s life like my therapists did for me,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow 18 years cancer-free, Rogers earned a bachelor\u0027s degree in radiation therapy from Augusta University. A program director told him about Georgia Tech\u0027s medical physics program, and, since arriving at the Institute in 2021, he has sought hands-on experience in the field. Completing the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nre.gatech.edu\/clinical-rotation-course\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eclinical portion of the program\u003C\/a\u003E through a partnership with the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Rogers learned each role within the rotation.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022From booting up machines and checking on patients to everything else, I just started wanting to come in every day. I\u0027d go in for free just because I love what I\u0027m doing,\u0022 he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERogers wasn\u0027t immune to the stresses of everyday college life, but he approached them with a positive perspective.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022My parents told me that there\u0027s always a light at the end of every tunnel, and it\u0027s always going to be worth it in the end. So, I will keep telling myself and everybody else that when they\u0027re going through a hard time, keep pushing,\u201d he said. \u201cThings may be painful and stressful now, but think about what you will achieve in the future and the people you will help get through battles of their own. That will always keep me motivated.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERogers isn\u0027t done with medical appointments, but with each yearly checkup, he never tires of hearing the words he hopes to deliver in his career: \u0022All clear.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Andrew Rogers was given a week to live at 3 years old. Now cancer-free, he wants to make sure no child with cancer goes through it alone.  "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAndrew Rogers was given a week to live at 3 years old. Now cancer-free, he wants to make sure no child with cancer goes through it alone.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Andrew Rogers was given a week to live at 3 years old. Now cancer-free, he wants to make sure no child with cancer goes through it alone.  "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2024-04-29 19:38:56","changed_gmt":"2024-05-01 17:01:55","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-04-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-04-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673885":{"id":"673885","type":"video","title":"One in a Million","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAndrew Rogers was given a week to live at 3 years old. Now cancer-free, he wants to make sure no child with cancer goes through it alone.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1714482805","gmt_created":"2024-04-30 13:13:25","changed":"1714482805","gmt_changed":"2024-04-30 13:13:25","video":{"youtube_id":"qWhuY8pvoiY","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qWhuY8pvoiY"}},"673881":{"id":"673881","type":"image","title":"Andrew Rogers in the hospital with his dad by his side. ","body":null,"created":"1714420832","gmt_created":"2024-04-29 20:00:32","changed":"1714421351","gmt_changed":"2024-04-29 20:09:11","alt":"Andrew Rogers in the hospital with his dad by his side. ","file":{"fid":"257332","name":"Screenshot 2024-04-29 at 3.55.06\u202fPM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/04\/29\/Screenshot%202024-04-29%20at%203.55.06%E2%80%AFPM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/04\/29\/Screenshot%202024-04-29%20at%203.55.06%E2%80%AFPM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":3602414,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/04\/29\/Screenshot%202024-04-29%20at%203.55.06%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=SnCrhfdS"}}},"media_ids":["673885","673881"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"167101","name":"Spring Commencement"},{"id":"280","name":"Cancer research"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E - Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}