CMU grad overcomes cancer hurdle to land engineering degree

November has taken on special significance to 22-year-old Shakiel Cephas.

In November 2018, he was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma, and the following November, he got news that the cancer had gone into remission. And on Thursday, November 17, 2022, Cephas was among almost 800 Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) graduates to walk across the stage to collect his bachelor's degree in engineering in industrial systems.

It was a heart-warming moment for the Calabar High old boy, one that he never doubted he would get to, even while battling the dreaded cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's germ-fighting immune apparatus.

“I always try my best to think forward,” an animated Cephas told The Gleaner.

He recalled that weeks before he was set to begin his first year of studies at the CMU, he started experiencing abnormal back pain, severe nausea and fatigue, and began losing a lot of weight.

Puzzled, he first sought to treat the symptoms with herbal remedies, but when he was not seeing any improvement, his family physician recommended a biopsy, the results of which left the loquacious teen speechless.

“Words cannot describe [it]. It felt like an unreal situation. Cancer is something where it feels like yuh see a country get bomb. You didn't expect it to happen to you, but in this case, it did,” he said.

During his illness, Cephas found out that his great-grandmother had battled breast cancer. And so even though he was hesitant to begin chemotherapy because of the side effects, he knew that he, too, had to take on this fight.

And his family and school stood right behind him, ready to lend support.

“School allowed me to feel like a regular person. While I was here, I was doing chemo and all of these things. The school environment was very comfortable, and it encouraged me to come out go to school same way, and that really allowed me to hold on,” he said.

His mom, Latoya Page, would accompany him to the hospital every other Friday for treatment, staying with him for the entire time. His school friends also ensured that he did not fall behind in class by sharing notes.

For his part, Cephas said he tried to remain optimistic, despite dealing with constant pain.

“I don't necessarily want to make other people suffer because of what I am going through, so in an effort to not make my situation look that bad, I bottled up a lot of the pain; I endured the pain.” he said. “When I'm around my friends or my family, I try to stay my best to remain in a positive mindset almost to the point where I forget that the pain is there.”

The burden was made lighter with a full scholarship from the CMU to cover tuition.

Cephas, the eldest of three siblings, said his cancer treatment was very expensive, and his mother, who works as a sales clerk, could not afford it on her own. This situation, especially, drew him closer to God as time and time again, he would be blessed with financial miracles.

“I could not deny God in the situation because it was so obvious that He was in it. Everything falls in place, everything on time – chemo medication buy on time, chemo sessions do on time, blood test do on time,” he reflected, adding that his last scan to confirm that the cancer was in remission had cost $800,000 and was funded with a grant from the CHASE Fund.

Currently working with the National Works Agency, Cephas told The Gleaner that he is excited for his engineering career to blossom.

And even though he is sometimes apprehensive that his cancer may return, it is not something that he chooses to dwell on.

“I take the strength that I gain and the elements that it built in my character and I move forward,” he said.

It's an attitude that was encouraged by keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony, senior vice-president of contact centre sales and service at Carnival Cruise Line, Dave Chang, who charged graduates to never stop learning, pay forward, and make a difference in the world.

“There's always gonna be something happening in the world, so we can't focus on what we can't control. We're gonna focus on the moment, we're gonna focus on the now, we're gonna focus on the fact that despite all the setbacks that you guys have [faced], here you are, still standing,” Chang said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com