Ron Cumberland is not a typical college student.

Sure, he likes parties, enjoys going to concerts and thinks the residence hall cafeteria food could be better. However, something about Cumberland sets him apart from most other college students.

Two weeks before the start of fall quarter of 2000, Cumberland, a junior in hospitality management, was diagnosed with cancer. But that’s not what makes Cumberland different from many other students.

While many of us may spend hours dwelling on poor exam grades or complain about losing precious weekends to homework or part-time jobs, Cumberland looks at his workload and wonders if he can do more.

“I’m used to a busy schedule,” Cumberland said.

Cumberland graduated from Cloverleaf High School in his hometown of Medina County in the spring of 1999. After graduation he took time off from school and worked at 84 Lumber doing construction and assembly 60 hours per week to earn money for college.

Cumberland started school at Ohio State in the spring of 2000. His first quarter went well, and he was looking forward to returning to class in the fall.

However, two weeks before he was to start fall classes, Cumberland was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease.

When he first received the news, Cumberland was unaware that Hodgkin’s disease was a form of cancer.

“When the doctor told me that it was Hodgkin’s, I said, ‘OK, well we can probably treat it over winter break and then I’ll go back to school for spring quarter.’ That’s when the doctor said, ‘No, you don’t quite understand,’ and then told me in more technical terms what was going on,” Cumberland said.

Before visiting a doctor and receiving a diagnosis, Cumberland noticed a small bump on his neck, smaller than the size of a dime.

In one month’s time, the small bump grew to the size of a fist.

“It just exploded; it was like a balloon,” Cumberland said.

At first, Cumberland’s doctor thought the lump might have been caused by stress, attributable to Cumberland’s 60-hour work weeks. However, a biopsy proved that it was cancer.

“I was speechless. It was like getting the wind knocked out of you,” Cumberland said.

Luckily, Cumberland’s cancer was caught before it reached its final stages.

Hodgkin’s disease, a form of lymphoma, generally affects cells in the lymph nodes, which are located in the neck, diaphragm, armpits, spleen, liver and groin.

Immediately after diagnosis, Cumberland began chemotherapy treatments once every two weeks for six months. He received six-hour-long chemotherapy treatments through an IV in his arm.

Cumberland’s doctor told him to expect to take about one year off of school and work for recovery.

For the first three months of his treatment, Cumberland stayed at his home in Medina County.

“It was like having the flu after every treatment,” Cumberland said. “But I found out that my recovery time from each treatment was three days, and the rest of the days I was bored. I hated sitting around not doing anything.”

After only three months, Cumberland decided to go back to school.

In addition to classes, Cumberland worked at the McDonald’s on Neil Avenue, as it was conveniently located near the James Cancer Institute, where he could continue treatments.

Cumberland organized his schedule so his class and work week began on Tuesdays and ended on Fridays. He scheduled his treatments on Saturdays, and with a three-day recovery period he was ready for school and work again by Tuesday.

“Ironically, that was the best quarter I’ve had so far. I got a 3.5,” Cumberland said.

Cumberland said that having a good support system is what helped him through difficult times.

Cumberland received assistance from the Office of Disability Services. ODS provided transportation to and from treatments and made arrangements with Cumberland’s teachers to give grades based on the work he did, despite the fact he may have had to miss classes.

Cumberland also remembers the support he received from his friends and roommates.

“One time I went in for a treatment, I knew my friend Phil had classes all day but he showed up. I practically yelled at him to go back to his class,” Cumberland said. “He said he thought I might need a friend.”

Phil Jones, a senior in aerospace engineering and a friend of Cumberland’s since eighth grade, remembers sharing Cumberland’s experience with Hodgkin’s disease.

“I was stunned when I first found out. It didn’t sink in for a while,” Jones said.

Joe Smith, a senior in political science and history, was Cumberland’s roommate while he was receiving treatments. Smith remembers it was not the most optimistic time, but they still shared laughs and good times.

“We were all hoping for Ron. We didn’t prepare for any negative outcome because Ron wasn’t. We were all optimistic about the eventual outcome,” Smith said.

Smith said he never had a friend who was seriously ill before, but he tried not to treat Cumberland differently.

“I didn’t like to dwell on it because Ron didn’t,” said Smith.

Cumberland maintained a positive attitude from the time he was diagnosed; he was so positive that often times others were unaware that he was sick.

“I wouldn’t have known that anything was wrong if he hadn’t told us for scheduling reasons,” said Conan Astley, manager at McDonald’s.

Ultimately, Cumberland’s chemotherapy treatments were successful, and he has been in remission for about 18 months.

Cumberland said that his experience with Hodgkin’s disease made him appreciate things more, and he strives to live life to the fullest.

“I have learned that you never know what is going to happen,”he said.