Cazenovia, NY - Taylor Matt had two reasons to celebrate last week. The 17-year-old donned a cap and gown this afternoon to receive her diploma as part of the Class of 2010 at Cazenovia High School graduation. But perhaps even more importantly, on Wednesday, her doctors removed the port they used to drip powerful drugs into her veins for...
Cazenovia High senior Taylor Matt, who spent most of her senior year at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital undergoing treatment for leukemia, is congratulated Sunday afternoon by Cazenovia Superintendent of Schools Robert Dubik after receiving her diploma at commencement ceremonies.The 17-year-old donned a cap and gown this afternoon to receive her diploma as part of the Class of 2010 at Cazenovia High School graduation.
But perhaps even more importantly, on Wednesday, her doctors removed the port they used to drip powerful drugs into her veins for the majority of her senior year, signifying the end of Matt’s chemotherapy treatment.
The milestones seemed nearly impossible last August when blood tests revealed that the cancer Matt overcame in seventh grade had returned.
Instead of attending classes and playing lacrosse with her friends, Matt spent her senior year at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital receiving chemotherapy and waiting for a bone marrow transplant. School officials set up a camera in her classes that allowed her to interact with teachers and students using her laptop. On days when she was too sick to participate, she received her assignments by e-mail.
Despite her treatments, Matt managed to take part in some of the traditions of senior year. Hospital staff helped her choose and purchase a dress for senior ball, which came weeks after her last round of chemotherapy.
“All the doctors were in it together,” Matt said. “They were like, ‘We’ve got to get her there.’”
Her friends were part of the scheme too. Those who rode in the 28-passenger limo bus wore decorated hospital masks to the dance at the Hotel Syracuse, which coincidentally had a masquerade theme.
“Mine had a pink sparkly crown,” Matt said with a grin. “Everybody else had a mask over their eyes, and we all walked in with the hospital masks on. It was great.”
It was a happy end to a year that started with a terrifying diagnosis.
“I was the first one to say that it was back,” said the teenager, who played lacrosse year-round. “I know my body.”
The fatigue matched the symptoms that led to her first diagnosis, which kept her out of school for most of seventh grade. Doctors confirmed that the leukemia had returned and started her on an aggressive regime of chemotherapy, which completely wiped out her immune system.
The treatment was accompanied by a search for a bone marrow donor, after tests revealed that her parents and sister weren’t a match.
Supporters organized registration drives across Central New York which have added hundreds of names to the national donor database and matched one potential donor with a cancer patient in need of a transplant.
But Matt’s unique ancestry – which includes Native American, Greek, Irish and Italian heritage - has delayed a match for her. While the markers used in matching are inherited and patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity, the registry contains only 80,000 donors who identify as Native or American Indian. As a result, more than 80 percent of Native Americans do not receive bone marrow transplants within the first six months of diagnosis.
The odds haven’t slowed down supporters, who have said they will keep searching until they find a match. Father Jeff Matt said he met one donor who drove to Cazenovia from the Tuscarora reservation near Niagara Falls to add his name to the registry.
“He said he just had to try,” he said. “There’s someone out there.”
Friends helped raise awareness by selling purple T-shirts with the slogan, “Tay Strong,” which were worn by lacrosse players from nearly a dozen local teams during warm-ups this spring. Last week, more than 150 supporters held a benefit at the district’s athletic fields on Fenner Road, donning the purple T-shirts to spell out her nickname - “Tay” - in an aerial photograph.
“Now, when we drive through Fayetteville or Manlius, we always see someone in that purple shirt,” she said. “It’s the coolest thing.”
With the bone marrow transplant on hold until a suitable match is found, the new graduate said she was looking forward to the rituals of summer: swimming, fishing with her father and going to amusement parks. She wants to go to college to become a nurse and could start some classes next spring.
“I missed out on a whole year,” she said. “I just want to have fun.”
Contact Alaina Potrikus at apotrikus@syracuse.com or 470-3252.
At a benefit for Cazenovia High School senior Taylor Matt, who is battling cancer, supporters wore purple T-shirts that said "Tay Strong for Taylor."