There are really no words to describe the quiet heroes living amongst us.
And there are many of them, although their paths may be different. Some have risked helping others while endangering themselves. Others, like Ty Harper, have endured a chronic illness but emerged stronger and more resilient on the other side of it.
Ty’s life turned upside down in February 2024 when he noticed persistent swelling in his lymph nodes. Assuming it was just an infection, Ty took several rounds of antibiotics. However, when the swelling persisted, a biopsy was performed, confirming Hodgkin lymphoma, a highly treatable cancer primarily affecting people in their twenties.
Growing up in a military family, Ty had experienced life in Japan, Korea, and New York before settling in Dallas. But traveling, enjoying Dallas’s urban vibe, and freelancing in photography, an industry he is passionate about, all came to a screeching halt.
For the next six months, Ty was consumed with biweekly chemotherapy appointments, alongside a newly approved therapy that was physically grueling. Radiation followed. With a full-time job, and living alone with only a few family and friends nearby to lend a hand, Ty began to question whether he had it in him to endure this process.
Beyond this external struggle, something else was waging war within him and casting doubt on his core identity. “My reputation as a mindful, strong, intuitive person in my community clashed with the mental health challenges I faced. I expected myself to be resolute, but the treatment broke me. My side effects became so excruciating that I was hospitalized.”
Ty’s expectations of himself were high. “I didn’t feel like a 'good' survivor. In my cancer support group, others seemed to manage it better than me, while I felt I had failed to rise to the challenge.” To help cope, he had resorted to overly legislating his life with rigid self-help strategies such as detailed planners and accountability partners, but it just wasn’t working.
Deep inside, Ty knew that the version of him that was fighting cancer wasn’t the real him. “My oncologist then reminded me that I was chosen for this specific therapy precisely because I was strong—not weak. This triggered me to reframe my perspective and embrace my own vibe instead of mimicking others.”
Part of the reframing process included reflecting back on what made him so successful in college as a top-notch Sociology major at Baylor in Waco, Texas. “In college, the Forest app helped me, blocking distractions while rewarding my focus. So, I applied this philosophy to chemo. Instead of trying to consume someone else’s self-help info all the time, I began to separate all my tasks by using a 30-minute kitchen timer.”
The first time Ty applied this technique, the results astounded him. For the next 30 minutes, Ty decided to do something–anything–that would improve his circumstances without overthinking. About 25 minutes later, he looked around to see what he had accomplished: mail had been sorted, dishes washed, clothes organized, and more. This watershed moment helped Ty regain his confidence.
They say it’s the small victories in life that change everything, and it was no different for Ty. Every 30-minute segment helped him delve into the chaos that had piled up around him. Breaking up his cancer treatment into small, manageable moments slowly eased the mounting frustration and overwhelm.
In November 2024, Ty went into remission wiser and stronger. “One of the hardest realizations was how many people weren’t there for me. When I announced my diagnosis, I lost 100 followers on Instagram. Many people simply don’t know how to handle cancer, so they avoid the conversation altogether. That doesn’t mean they don’t care.”
“Post-cancer, my goal is to educate others about the importance of reaching out to friends battling illness. When others engage with our story, we all grow. I want people to know they already have what it takes to survive challenges, so they should embrace that openly and confidently.”
“I want people to know they already have what it takes to survive challenges, so they should embrace that openly and confidently.”