"Minnekhada middle," Marko Marconato said when asked in August what school he would be attending in September.
"No, you won't!" replied the Port Coquitlam boy's mother, Paula, with a bewildered look. "You're in Grade 9."
"Oh, yeah," he smiled, sheepishly. "Terry Fox. I keep forgetting. I'm in high school now."
Rising to the secondary level is a big deal for every teen but it is especially sweet for Marko given the nightmare he and his family have gone through over the past 21 months.
In December 2011, Paula was play-fighting with her 12-year-old son when she felt a lump on his right arm.
"You couldn't see it," she said, "but it was very large when you touched the bone."
Marko's arm had felt sore but because he was active in swimming, lacrosse and hockey, he didn't think anything of it.
When the mass didn't go away after Christmas, Paula took him to the doctor, who ordered X-rays, which were followed with a biopsy at B.C. Children's Hospital on Jan. 25, 2012.
The family of five braced for the news. He had cancer, they were told. And not just any cancer. Marko had the same type Terry Fox - also a teen living in Port Coquitlam at the time of his diagnosis - had: osteogenetic sarcoma.
To shrink the malignant tumour before a 20-hour reconstruction surgery, Marko underwent four months of intensive chemotherapy that started five days after he got the biopsy results.
"He basically lived at the hospital," Paula said. "There was very little at-home time."
The limb-sparing operation that happened on April 17, 2012 involved taking bone from his leg and fusing it with bone in his arm. Afterwards, he underwent six more months of chemo.
Again, he lost his hair.
At Children's, with an external brace pinned into his arm, the plucky teen decorated his room with signed jerseys from his heroes - Boston Bruins' Milan Lucic and Vancouver Canucks' Roberto Luongo - as well as hockey memorabilia from the Coquitlam Express, which had held a fundraiser for the Marconatos, as did other sports organizations and businesses.
The year "was very long," said Paula, noting her son sustained infections and low blood counts.
His stay at Children's Hospital was an eye-opener, his mother said. Marko met other young cancer patients, many of whom did not survive.
"I can count five friends, under the age of 15, who have since died," Paula said.
Staring at her boy, she said, "Marko has been to hell and back but at least he's back. Other families can't say the same.
"Marko is such a happy kid to begin with. He went in with a great attitude and came out the same Marko. He held it together."
Today, he is described as being in "active recovery."
He still has issues with his arm - he broke it in May as the bone wasn't fusing - and returns regularly for medical check-ups, including CT scans, EKGs and hearing tests. He also sees his orthopedic surgeon every three weeks.
For the next decade, he'll be under a doctor's eye so he remains NED, which stands for "no evidence of disease."
Because of the limited use of his arm, he can't write (he'll use a laptop for school work) nor can the minor hockey goalie play organized sports.
"It sucks," he said.
Still, he keeps busy.
Marko is eager to spread the word about surviving cancer, especially as September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and as the 33rd annual Terry Fox Run rolls around with the Hometown Run just blocks from his house.
Sharing Terry Fox's story with her children has long been important to Paula. She watched Fox on his Marathon of Hope in 1980 and took part in the annual runs in his name. She even participated when she was pregnant with Marko and, when she crossed the finish line, organizers place a ribbon on her belly.
"Who would ever think, all these years later, your son would have cancer too?" Paula said. "You just don't know what cards you will be dealt with in life.
"We feel so fortunate with Marko," she added. "There's hope for cancer patients now, not like in Terry's time. Look how far cancer treatments have come. You can beat it. It's possible. Marko is living proof."
To read more about Marko Marconato's cancer journey, go to caringbridge.org/visit/markomarconato.
