Staten Island, N.Y. - Isabella Bardon, an 18-year old cancer survivor from Graniteville, does not take her time for granted and takes all the chances she can -- traveling, pursuing her passion for all things fashion and embracing the present.
“I think people take their time for granted. I’ve fallen into depressions where I’m just at home for months and depressed and sulking, but I could’ve been doing way more than that,” Bardon shared. “I think after my whole experience, I just feel like I don’t want to waste time in my life.
I like to take chances.” Her passion for life and her hobbies strengthened after she was diagnosed with leukemia, the most common cancer in children and teens, at age 13 in 2019. Born in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, she moved to Graniteville, Staten Island during middle school but continued attending school and getting medical treatment in Brooklyn.
Navigating treatment: Acceptance and growth Bardon started intensive chemotherapy right away at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. It is the only children’s oncology hospital in that borough; since then Staten Island has seen its own $50M pediatric oncology center open at Staten Island University Hospital . She described the treatment at the hospital as smooth, noting that doctors made an effort to make her feel heard in every situation.
If she was uncomfortable, they would ask her directly rather than her parents. “I feel like a lot of time as kids they’re like ‘oh, we have to ask th.
