Sophia Baudo’s energy is magnetic. At just 18 years old, her positive attitude and engaging smile take center stage in even the hardest of times. Her ability to focus on the good and dance through life’s challenges played a pivotal role in January of 2024 and the months that followed. That’s when Sophia learned she had cancer.
Sophia’s cancer diagnosis
Sophia was an active teenager: an involved student at Nardin Academy and a competitive dancer at Company Eight Dance Studio. When she started to develop cold symptoms in July of 2023, just ahead of her senior year of high school, cancer was far from the radar.
“I started to get cold symptoms and a cough that just wouldn’t ever go away, and I started to get swollen lymph nodes on my neck. At first, the doctors thought it was just a cold or the flu.” Sophia explained. “I was on antibiotics and steroids, but nothing was helping make me feel better. Nothing was making my lymph nodes go down. This was going on for months, multiple times, multiple antibiotics. Then during Christmas break, I started to wheeze, and I couldn’t breathe.”
Sophia’s mom knew something was wrong. So, they went back to the doctor and received an initial diagnosis of pneumonia. A chest X-ray would later reveal a large mass on the right side of Sophia’s chest. It was Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“It was crazy to me. You never think it’s going to be you, especially being a young, healthy teenager doing all the fun things, but cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, it can hit you,” Sophia, who is a member of Roswell Park’s Courage of Carly Fund, reflected.
The news came in early January. Amid the challenges of her treatment, Sophia strived to maintain some level of normalcy, remain tough and seek moments of joy.
Staying positive through cancer treatment
Sophia started treatment at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center on January 30, 2024 and continued through July 2024. She admits the symptoms of her treatment could be brutal at times, and the journey was an emotional one. She credits the family and friends in her circle for helping her stay optimistic day after day.
“I have a great support system surrounding me, and I have so many people who are rooting for me and I just think that there’s a mind-body connection and if you’re positive, you’ll get through it better. I think that’s been true for me.”
Cancer can take a lot from patients without their control, but Sophia didn’t let it take the things that make her happiest.
“I was able to continue dancing and even kept competing,” said Sophia. “Some days after I got treatment, I went straight to the dance studio even if I was tired.”
Sophia put it best in an Instagram caption with photos from a competition during her treatment: “Dancing through life,” she stated simply.
Sophia and the Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres have a more than decade-long relationship with Roswell Park. Every year, Dan Dunleavy and Marty Biron raise money and shave their heads to raise money for cancer research.
At the 2024 event, Sophia was selected to help with the head shavings during the Sabres live broadcast.
“It was super fun. I’m super happy I got to do it because shaving my head was hard, so it was fun to shave somebody else’s because it makes me feel way less alone. You truly aren’t alone because there are so many people who are willing to shave their heads for you,” Sophia explained. “And hair is a big deal. It’s your identity. And especially as a teenager, a teenage girl, that’s who I am. But I’ve found that it doesn’t really matter anymore and so many other people are doing it and it just makes me feel a lot less alone.”
A new perspective as a cancer patient
Cancer isn’t fair, and Sophia, like so many other pediatric patients, knows that firsthand. However, she is committed to living life to the fullest and making the most of each moment.
“It’s awful — symptoms and the sickness, but part of me is grateful for the journey. I know now that everything in life has purpose, and this is serving its purpose. I’ve met some incredible people and learned incredible things.”
Sophia rang the victory bell at Roswell Park in August and started college at the University at Buffalo. She is looking forward to the years ahead and thanks her doctors and nurses at Roswell Park for giving her the hope for a future without cancer.
Editor’s Note: Cancer patient outcomes and experiences may vary, even for those with the same type of cancer. An individual patient’s story should not be used as a prediction of how another patient will respond to treatment. Roswell Park is transparent about the survival rates of our patients as compared to national standards, and provides this information, when available, within the cancer type sections of this website.