Zeke finds plenty of things to keep him busy as he battles against cancer.

Zeke confident in his fight with cancer

After helping his father, Julio, toss branches in a trailer that would later be hauled to the brush site in Minneota, Zeke Monzon reflected on his current battle with cancer.

It was obvious that the Minneota freshman-to-be was uncomfortable talking about himself as he sat in a lawn chair in the driveway of his home on Ghent. "I'm not really scared anymore; I have faith in God," he said, gazing up to the sky.

"I was scared when I first heard that I had ….." He paused for a moment before allowing himself to say the dreaded word "cancer".

After that, he began to speak freely about his health. It was as though uttering the "c" word released some built up tension and maybe even some hostility. Zeke was diagnosed with Stage 2 Class A Hodgkin's Lymphoma in early May and spent his 14th birthday in a hospital bed in Sioux Falls.

He has had three rounds of chemotherapy treatments at the Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls so far, with two more remaining. "We got a call this morning (Friday) from the hospital in Sioux Falls with his latest PET scan,” said his mother Nyomie.

"And they told us the tumor is shrinking. He's reacting well to his treatment."

Even though he heard the good news earlier in the day, Zeke smiled again when he heard his mother repeat the words "tumor is shrinking". "He's a tough kid," said Nyomie.

"His counts are a little low, which is normal. He will have a test next week and if the counts are high enough, he will have another treatment."

Although the ordeal has been tough on the entire family, they remain steadfast in their beliefs. "We have a lot of faith," said Julio. "I was really sad when we first found out about his cancer. But we are putting everything in God's hands. He gives us our strength."

Zeke is dealing with the type of adversity that most adults have trouble handling. But he is standing toe-to-toe against cancer like a prize fighter. "I feel pretty good now," he said, tugging on the baseball cap he wears to mask his self-consciousness that goes along with losing your hair following chemotherapy.

"I first saw my hair falling out in the shower," he said.

"I expected it to happen, but it was kind of sad, too."

Zeke's uncle, Yoni, cut Zeke's hair short and then turned the tables on his nephew, insisting he cut his uncle's hair to match. "I didn't want to do it at first," laughed Zeke.

"But my mom told me to go ahead and cut it. So I did."

Zeke's cousin, Moises, also had his hair cut short to show his support. Zeke is doing many of the things he did before his recent illness.

The family has a swimming pool in the back yard and Zeke has been able to enjoy a hot summer's day in there with his family. "He can't swim in a lake or river yet," said Nyomie.

"Too much bacteria. But he can swim in the pool because it has chlorine in it."

Except for the nausea he feels after having chemotherapy, Zeke feels as good as he did before his illness. "I can do pretty much what I always have done," he said.

"The only thing is I get a little more tired. But I'm getting stronger every day." Zeke said not thinking about having cancer makes it much easier.

"Now I don't even realize I have cancer," he said. "I'm not worrying about it. I'm just waiting."

Having said that, he looked up and smiled before getting up and hopping in his dad's truck to haul the branches away. "He has a good attitude," said Nyomie.

"He's a strong boy and we are so grateful that his happy spirits are still there."

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