I was a healthy 22-year-old with hopes of attending medical school when I asked my doctor to take my swollen lymph node seriously. A biopsy showed I had stage III nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The first night after my nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosis, I began focusing on the things I was grateful for. I studied biology and was interested in medicine, so I understood my diagnosis and researched my condition. This helped me with...