How Lauren Evans Tackled Cancer

Lauren Evans keeps climbing. She climbs and climbs until she reaches the mount of the obstacle course. Lauren is five-years-old but you wouldn’t recognize it at first, as she shimmies and shakes her way past men two times the size of her on her way to the final obstacle.

Mom, Allison and dad, Jerome, watch from below as they watch their daughter ascend past the other participants. A final rope swing is all that is left of the course for their daughter.

Lauren grips her hands around the stiff, wiry rope, hanging on with all her will.

As Lauren begins her descent, watching from below, Jerome can see the grimace growing on his 5-year-old daughter’s face.

The pain is an afterthought for Lauren, who nears the finish of the course as applause ensues from the mainland.

The rope had rubbed Lauren’s hands raw. But the blood that crawls upwards Lauren’s forearms is not a sign of defeat, but rather victory. Lauren would be the only one that day in Jamaica who would complete the obstacle course.

“She’s been that type of person her whole life,” Jerome said. “She’s a fighter.”

Fast forward almost two decades later and Lauren, or “Lo” as she’s more commonly referred to as, is now a senior on the Florida soccer team. Ever since that vacation day in Jamaica, Lo has continued to overcome obstacles and reach new heights, albeit in a different setting  — one more rigorous and challenging physically, mentally and emotionally than most have ever faced.

One word is all it takes.

All it takes is one word to change a life. On a February day in 2017, that word was “Florida,” Lauren’s college of choice to pursue both soccer and academic excellence for the next four years of her life. Accompanied by orange and blue decorations around her, Lauren smiles and stares into the camera for an official photo.

Nine months later, Lauren stares again, but this time, it’s blankly at the chalk white ceiling tiles of the UF Health Shands emergency room. She waited for an official diagnosis.

On Friday evening, she was with the Gators as they concluded their 2017 season with a 2-0 loss at South Carolina in the NCAA Quarterfinal. She hadn’t felt well during the team’s trip to Columbia and continued to feel ill after the team returned to Gainesville. The flu-like symptom evolved to shortness of breath and coughing up blood.  

Now it’s Tuesday and when the UF Infirmary doctors couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong in Lauren’s blood sample, they sent her UF Shands. 

It was the beginning of the 2017 holiday season as the team shared Thanksgiving together in Columbia, S.C. But this season would be drastically altered and without warning.

Lauren waited patiently in the emergency room for the doctor to report back on what they had found in the blood sample. 

When the doctor returned, it wasn’t for an explanation on the immediate treatment available to Lauren so she could make her way back home. Back to her life. Back to normal.

The official diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia (AML). 

Acute meaning if not treated, it progresses rapidly. 

Then, it kills you.

Despite an extensive screening process and explanation to Lauren of what had been found, it was that one word that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Leukemia. 

All it takes is one word. One word changed Lauren Evans’ life.

“When a professional tells you that, it’s a nightmare — that you can never wake up from,” Lauren said. “I woke up every morning hoping it was just a dream and it wasn’t.”

But unlike a nightmare, this was reality.

The Florida Gator soccer team was just a win away from advancing to the 2017 NCAA College Cup, but dwelling on the loss quickly took backseat to concern for their teammate and friend, Lauren.

“When I first heard of her diagnosis, the first thing that went through my mind was if she’s going to be okay,” said teammate Deanne Rose, Lauren’s roommate at the time.

“I had never dealt with anything like this. No one close to me had ever gotten cancer.”

Lauren was told March, best case scenario, was the timetable in which she could recover and be released from hospital care. It’s a daunting game plan for anybody to wrap their head around. 

But for Lauren, this was a battle she felt equipped for despite all of the frightening times ahead.

“If anything, we were the ones more worried from listening to doctors. She was lifting us up,” Jerome said.

“We tried not to show it, but I’m sure it’s written over your face when you hear certain things and you’re trying to be as strong as you possibly can. My baby is laying there and she had a tough road ahead.”

“There’s no manual for it. You kind of figure it out as you’re going through it,” he said.

Lauren’s first battle would be with chemotherapy — an invisible opponent that comes quickly and with force. Like a worthy opponent, chemo tears you down, only to build you back up in pursuit of greater triumph.

But unlike the rope 5-year-old Lauren fearlessly hung onto during a family vacation, she didn't have to go through this journey alone. Her parents were by her side, every step of the way.

“I know your parents are supposed to be there for you through everything but I feel like I owe them. They never gave up on me, they kept pushing me. The times I was really down, they lifted me up.”

A wave of emotion sweeps over Lauren’s face.

“For me to have them there with me is what keeps me going honestly.”

Lauren would spend the next five months, less than 10 minutes away from Donald R. Dizney stadium where her teammates would start training for the 2018 spring season.

Lauren’s physical presence may have been missed but her emotional tie to the team stayed intact. Visits from teammates, head Coach Becky Burleigh and best friend and roommate Deanne Rose, and many others helped Lauren battle against the invisible enemy in cancer.

“I tried to keep her thinking about other things than her situation”, Rose said. “Find things to make her laugh, smile and not think about being cooped up in a hospital room for months.”

The supportive nature of the team was recognized by Jerome who saw how much of a positive impact the team had made in Lauren’s recovery.

“They made it a point to make her feel like she was a part of everything. Even when she was going through the trials and tribulations of cancer, the team was always in our hospital room,” Jerome said.

“Whenever she was down, another player would show up. They always made her feel like she was a part of the team.”

January came around. While most rang in the new year with fireworks and glasses of champagne, Lauren would welcome in 2018 with more chemotherapy injections — this time into her spine to rid Lauren of the leukemia hidden within her bone marrow.

As a result of receiving the treatment repeatedly, it had caused severe nerve damage to the lower half of her body -- making an expedient return to the field seem implausible, let alone being able to walk.

A timetable of when she would be able to stand by herself, on her own two feet, wouldn’t be determinable until Lauren felt sensation in her legs or feet. Doctors couldn’t guarantee if Lauren would ever feel this sensation.

“When I couldn’t move, I didn’t really know what was next. I didn’t have something to look forward to,” Lauren said.

Lauren was numb from belly button, down. 

Lauren’s diligence in seeing her treatments through had finally paid off. The light at the end of the tunnel, at last, didn’t seem so far away.

On a sunny June day, Lauren’s cancer treatments would finally reach a celebratory halt when she rang the UF Shands bell, signifying she had overcome her battle with cancer when she presented NED (No Evidence of Disease).

After months of battling cancer through chemotherapy treatments, ridding Lauren of her hair, nerves and normalcy — she was cancer free.

What came next was months of physically and emotionally draining physical therapy sessions as Lauren regained functionality in her legs and feet. Her rehabilitation efforts would culminate in her rejoining the Gator soccer roster for the 2018 season, but it would be in a drastically different role than what she had been used to.

It was a combination of patience, empathy for others and embracing her role on the team that allowed her to thrive while watching from the sidelines.

“As an athlete, when you're on the bench, it’s just normal to not be happy. You want to be in that role where you’re the one scoring and leading the team to a championship,” Lauren said.

“But after what I went through, I think that was one of my biggest lessons -- you’ve got to cheer for other people when they’re down.”

Lauren said her parents have led by example in this regard, helping instill in her the values that have helped herself and the team find success even with Lauren not on the field in her usual role. 

“I get it from my parents when it comes down to clapping for others when it isn’t your turn and cheering for people when they’re down. Somebody on the team like that could be what leads a team to a championship. Cheering for people when they’re down can get you somewhere really far.

Unfixable to Unbreakable.

But Lauren’s story was only at intermission. The effects of chemotherapy had also left the structural integrity of her hips at risk. 

In May of 2019, as Lauren headed into her junior year, she would undergo surgery for her hips, a complication doctors deemed “unfixable.” Lauren said. She described it as an experiment.

Yet, for Lauren this was just another uncertainty she would tackle with tenacity. While her condition was being described as unfixable, it was her mindset that remained unbreakable.

“It seems like the experiment has worked. I’m going to keep defying the odds. If they want to tell me something else that I can’t do, I’m just going to prove them wrong again,” Lauren said.

“They tell me I can’t walk again and now I’m walking again. They tell me that my hips are never going to get better and they’re getting better. They tell me that I’m never going to play again and I’m playing. I’m going to keep pushing until I can’t push anymore.”

Lauren was back with the Gators in 2019, but her hips were impacted by the chemotherapy and made it impossible to join her teammates on the practice field. 

She found another way to make an impact by playing a large role in the Gators adoption of eight-year-old Brooke Dunn and sister Addison through the Friends of Jaclyn Program, whose mission it is to improve the quality of life for those battling childhood cancer.

Brooke Dunn rang the UF Shands NED bell on August 10, 2019, just over a year after Lauren had. But the bell wasn’t the only thing that linked the duo together.

“Our first conversation we had was us relating our scars that we got from cancer, to each other — how we’ve been through the same thing,” Lauren said.

The similarities didn’t stop there. Lauren said she and Brooke loved to talk about and embrace their new short hairdos. The two had formed a connection almost instantaneously.

“As a little girl, in the midst of being 8-years-old, she gets sick and now she’s detached from her normal life. You bring her on to a team like ours and she automatically becomes the most popular girl her age. That’s huge for somebody,” Lauren said. 

“Little gestures like that can really save somebody’s life. It gives her something to look forward to on the bad days.”

It’s not just the Dunn family Lauren has drawn inspiration from during her journey. It’s been her own as well. Mom and Dad have been there with Lauren during tears of joy and relief and also when they were reserved for sadness and grief.

“She had a positive attitude even when things were looking really scary,” Jerome said.

“Her getting on the field was never even a thought. It’s just amazing that she’s actually getting the chance to touch the field.”

“We never thought we would get to this point, Allison said. “The way that she approached, conquered and faced every uncertainty, I couldn’t be more proud.”

Lauren is yet again practicing with her friends and teammates, a familiar setting to Lauren but with yet another new challenge to overcome.

“Now, practice is a lot harder for me than when I was a freshman because my body is not the same anymore. I’m not as fast, I’m not as strong but I try not to compare myself to everyone else around me,” Lauren said.

“I come into practice every day, saying that I’m competing with myself. As long as I get better every day that’s all I really care about.”

Even after a long and arduous battle with cancer, a disease that took so much away from Lauren, she says gratitude has been crucial to navigating life post cancer. 

“In life, when things aren’t going my way, I just look down and think about what is. I can move my legs. I can breathe without a tube. I don’t need to be connected to a wire where I’m getting chemo every day. I think about the things that are going my way and how far I’ve come.”

Whether it’s on or off the field, Lauren has used her cancer as her ultimate teacher. One that is ruthless in its lessons, but has provided her with perspective, Lauren said.

“When I try to compare myself to everyone else around me, that’s when I start to get down. But then I look at where I was a year, even two years ago today, I’ve come a long way. I can do a lot of things that people who have been through what I’ve been through, can’t do.”

This mindset has been reinforced by parents Jerome and Allison all of her life. And it’s being utilized in the biggest way now. Jerome said it’s the best advice he’s given to Lauren throughout all the years, throughout all the battles.

“Just be yourself, ” Jerome said.

“People see other people and try to emulate them. You’re not competing against anybody else. You’re competing against yourself. Just be yourself and a lot of people are going to like you for exactly who you are.”

Lauren isn’t expected to challenge for minutes due to her physical limitations, but if there’s anything to be learned from Lauren’s story is that giving up just isn’t Lauren’s style.

Lauren’s determination and ability to persevere are just some of the things that makes Lauren special, head coach Becky Burleigh said.

“I can remember back when she wasn’t even able to get out of bed in her hospital room and in a wheelchair coming out to practice. Now, to have her actually participating in practice is pretty inspiring,” Burleigh said.

Lauren’s foresight, determination and positive outlook kept not only herself optimistic, but her teammates as well, Burleigh said.

“I think every player on our team just has to look at her when they’re feeling down or struggling to get some inspiration from somebody who has really taken her comeback to a new level this year,” she said.

Lauren’s battle with cancer was one none of the Evans had planned to etch into their lives. But it’s a chapter Lauren has embraced fearlessly and admirably, despite all the adverse circumstances.

It’s no secret Lauren is not quite the player she was when she entered the University of Florida. Her hips, weaker. Her body, not the same. But what has only grown stronger for certain, is her mind, Lauren said.

Allison said it's Lauren's mindset throughout her journey that kept her focused and upbeat, even through all of her challenges.

“Mindset is really important, Allison said. Becky and her team do a lot of work on positive affirmations and how to think positive thoughts and project the future being positive.”

Lauren said it was one phrase that kept her steady throughout even the most daunting moments of her journey: “God gives its toughest battles to his toughest soldiers.”

“The biggest thing I learned in college is that things aren’t always going to go your way. You have to be open-minded and open to change.”

Remaining flexible in life when it comes to the role you play and steadfast in the preparation necessary to be successful is something Lauren said she’ll take with her beyond college and into the rest of her life.

“My role coming into college is a lot different than how I’m going to end college. At the end of my freshman year, my role changed. My role now is to be that person for when somebody on my team feels like giving up, they can see that somebody like me is doing the exact same thing as them, when I wasn’t supposed to make it this far.”

What’s next for Lauren extends far past the soccer field. Her next chapter even encapsulates her last. Her goal of being a nursing assistant is unwavering off the field.

“After I finished my treatments, I felt like being a nurse was my calling,” Lauren said.” I grew a strong bond with my nurses when I was sick. They became like sisters to me. I still talk to each and every one of them. 

“Sometimes when I go to the hospital, I have the opportunity to talk to people who are still fighting a sickness and the reactions I get from them and their parents about how they feel with me makes me feel like it’s a job that’s meant for me.”

“For me, it’ll be more than just a job. It’ll be something that I get up and I aspire and love to do. I think it would be perfect for me. I feel like it’s a job that is meant for me,” Lauren said.

Her father Jerome knows just how important it is for Lauren’s story to be there as a beacon of hope for those who are still going through the same hardships Lauren had been experiencing just a couple of years ago.

“Hope is very underrated,” he said. 

“That worked miracles for us. There is a silver lining. Some people do make it through. They’re miracles — but they do happen. And thank God, it happened for us.”

“Now she’s back out here moving around. It’s amazing that she went from not walking for months and months to now being on the field. We’re just happy to see her happy and be a part of the team,” he said.

Kicking Off A New Season, This Time As a Player

Sweat once again streams off Lauren Evans’ face as she laughs with teammates in pregame warmups, slinging her leg across her body, sending the ball flying across the field.

This is a routine play for most soccer players, as it is for Lauren now, but three years ago, this would have been an athletic feat unimaginable to her.

“I have some moments in practice where it feels like déjà vu.”

Lauren’s body, taking on the harsh, humid Florida heat is a sensation Lauren had solely dreamed about as she laid numb, her body unable to move in UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital.

“It's an indescribable feeling. I saw this in my dream two years ago when I was numb. Now I’m playing in scrimmages. Just passing a ball, a lot of people on the team don’t realize how much it can mean, Lauren said.”

That dream, what was once solely a figment of Lauren’s imagination, now is reality.

As Florida prepares for their Sunday night clash with Vanderbilt, the game takes on a deeper meaning for Lauren and her teammates. A larger, more personal narrative to the Gator soccer team surrounds the game. 

They’ll flood the field with pink jerseys, shorts, socks and more as they commemorate their 12th annual Kicking for the Cure match.

Pink is associated with breast cancer, but the Gators celebrate the strength and courage of all who face cancer in whatever form. 

They just need to look for No. 34 for a reminder of the power of hope.