Justin Condevillamar is a sophomore at Mills who is battling lymphoma, a type of cancer in his lymph nodes. He has recently received a bone marrow transplant to combat his relapse. The procedure successfully took place on September 14th and Justin is on his way to returning to Mills some time in the spring semester.

This is not the first time Justin has missed a long period of school for treatment. As a fifth grader, Justin also had to undergo chemotherapy and other treatments for his cancer. “I always had to stay positive and have a can do attitude otherwise things could have been a lot worse,” says Justin.

No one knew about Justin’s condition, so those connected to him were very surprised to find out what was happening. When he returned to school, his class made his transition to school as smooth as possible and gave him lots of support. Gavin Ronquillo, his former classmate, says that “when Justin came back, I was extremely glad to see that he was doing better. The entire class did our best to make him feel like he didn’t miss a thing. I was glad to see that I had someone again to talk about sports, and basketball statistics…we caught up on the latest NBA season, and predicted who would win the NBA championship.”

As a middle school student, Justin was still feeling the effects of his cancer as he had difficulty participating in sports and having to go to checkups. However, Justin persisted and became involved in other activities.  He became part in the ecology club, participated in church altar serving, helped with traffic assistance and became a member of the school quiz team. In the quiz team, Justin really stood out—he knew the answer to almost every single question, leading his team to an unmatched victory in eighth grade.

After graduating middle school, Justin chose to go to Mills High School. This choice was a challenge in itself since he didn’t know many people going to Mills. He joined robotics, met new friends, and enjoyed high school to its fullest. However, in the second semester of last year, things began to spiral out of his control. He would have to leave school constantly for appointments, missing out on important instruction days. Justin had relapsed in his lymphoma, which needed to be treated as soon as possible.

The first treatment he underwent was a shoulder surgery to remove a tumor. This surgery was performed in May without major complications. Around the time after the surgery, he found out a bone marrow transplant was also needed. A long recovery time is necessary for bone marrow transplants, so Justin would not be able to go to school until the spring semester.

Justin received his transplant on September 14th and is currently recovering in the hospital with a positive attitude. “Thank you to everyone thinking about me. I appreciate all the thoughts. I am excited to go back to school and see my friends again,” Justin says.

Justin’s friends are very eager for him to come back and would like to pass on some messages to him. Sophomore Cazathia Torres says, “You are very brave and I know I would not be able to go through what you are going through. You’re definitely one of the strongest people I know. We miss you; come back soon!” One of Justin’s closest friends, Sophomore Paul Hain says, “To think you’re going through this again is worrying, but I know you’ll bounce back just like you did before. Know that a lot of people, not just in Mills, but our old friends now in other high schools are thinking about you. Wish you the best till you come back in the second semester.”

Justin returns in the spring semester, so let us make sure to give him a warm welcome back. The Mills Thunderbolt wishes you a speedy recovery and awaits your return to us at Mills next semester!