NU senior wins battle with cancer; returns to campus

By Jonathan Grabie
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Each March many college students go on trips for spring vacation, but instead of vacations Norwich senior Lynn Beedle began his fight with testicular cancer.

For Beedle, a 23-year-old criminal justice major from Bethlehem Penn., the month of March is one that he will want to forget for the rest of his life. That is when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

"I broke down when the doctors told me I had testicular cancer," Beedle said. "I asked myself, why did this happen to me and wondered how."

Beedle said having support from the people closest to him was a key factor in his ability to stay focused and fight the cancer.

"My father and best friend came up to take me home, which made me feel better about myself," Beedle said. "Also another one of my best friends, my sidekick, moved in with me and basically quit his job to be by my side through everything that I was going through."

According to Beedle, all of his family members and best friends from home supported him and helped push him through this difficult time in his life.

At school, while trying to keep the situation "low-key," Beedle said there were a number of students and faculty who helped him .

The Military Police Company, the hockey team, and his good friends around campus all helped him get through his ordeal.

"They really pushed me through," Beedle said. "They made me believe that I could get past this rough time in my life."

Over the summer, Beedle said he had to go through many tests and ultimately had to have two surgeries.

Beedle said the thought of not surviving the cancer never crossed his mind until after the first surgery.

"The doctor recommended that I should go to Philadelphia, one of the big wheel centers for cancer research, to talk to another doctor," Beedle said. "That was the first time I felt that I might not make it and I had a chance of dying."

This also caused Beedle's family members and many of his close friends to worry that there was a possible chance of his not making it through, he said.

After six months of recovery, being back at school, Beedle feels better than he has ever felt.

"I feel stronger, and mentally I am much better," Beedle said. "Anything that has changed has changed for the best. I have a more complete attitude towards life."

The value of relationships has also changed for Beedle.

"I see things completely different," Beedle said. "I fully understand the simple things of life that most people take for granted in life."

Beedle is happy to be back at Norwich University and feels a stronger bond with his family and the people at school who helped him in his fight against cancer.

On Oct. 20, Beedle plans to marry Tori Moore, NU class of 2000, who is an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

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