A cancer survivor, Shead senior learns life's lessons early

The biggest thing I've learned is to live life to the fullest. I'm going to do all the things I want to do, and I don't take anything for granted."
Eighteen-year-old Patricia Candelmo, who will be graduating from Shead High School in Eastport on June 7, has a different view on life from that held by most students her age. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and ultimately received a liver transplant.
"I was one of those people who thought nothing bad was ever going to happen to them," recalls Candelmo. "Now I know how important it is to surround yourself with people who care about you and who you care about  my grandfather and grandmother, my mom and dad, my aunt Theresa."

She was only 16 when she received the news that she had liver cancer. Treatment in Bangor and Boston was unsuccessful, so she spent several months in a children's hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., where she received a new liver on February 11, 2005, from a 26-year-old donor.

In between her diagnosis and homecoming, her friends, teammates and neighbors held several fundraisers to help the Candelmo family with expenses. One of the first was a haircutting session led by the Heather Stanhope and the Shead Tigerettes basketball team, during which $440 was raised and hair was donated to Looks Like Me, which makes wigs for youngsters undergoing cancer treatment. A supper held at the Perry Elementary School, assisted by the New Friendly Restaurant, garnered $11,000. Money was also raised by benefit suppers held at La Sardina and at the Happy Crab.

When Patricia and her father finally arrived home on April 30, 2005, they were welcomed by a caravan of cars at Perry corner and escorted to Shead High School for a reception organized by Sandra Seeley, the mother of Patricia's best friend Brittany.

Despite missing months of school, Candelmo was able to make up all of her courses so that she could graduate with her original classmates. "I thank the staff at Shead, especially [guidance counsellor Leah] McLean and Miss Greenlaw, for organizing my life pretty much. All the teachers have helped me to graduate."

One of her biggest fans is Shead Principal Terry Lux, who says of Candelmo, "I think she's an exceptional young woman who's defied all the odds. She's shown great courage and great tenacity. For Patricia, the glass is always half-full."

"She's also a friend to everybody," adds Lux.

Although she once wanted to be a lawyer and describes herself as having "good argumentative skills," Candelmo is headed to Husson College in Bangor to study nursing and would like to work in a children's hospital some day. "I liked the [medical staff] in Bangor and Boston. Those hospitals aren't as fast-paced as the one in California. You get treated like an individual."

Lux has no doubt that Candelmo will reach her goals. "She absolutely sees the big picture. Things that mean a lot to high school students don't mean a lot to her. This child will succeed, no matter what she does."