A young Santee man is about to do battle with cancer for the third time in his short 18 years of life.
“I will say that I’m tired,” sighed Isaac Martinez. “I’m tired to go into this fight.”
Martinez, who graduated from high school in June, already overcame leukemia when he was 3 and 10 years old. Last month, he learned he now has a brain tumor. His family said it’s likely a side effect of the radiation Martinez endured while battling leukemia.
“I was angry,” recalled his father, Adam, upon hearing the news. “Pissed. Furious."
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Isaac Martinez’s uncle started an online fundraiser for the family. They're expected to miss upwards of six months of work to care for the 18-year-old after his surgery Thursday and subsequent treatments.
“I think with the support and the love and everything that I have going on right now, I think I’m going to be just fine,” he released an uneasy smile.
Martinez is also tired of asking himself, “Why me?” However, he also wants to know why he keeps surviving.
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“That’s always kind of been the hard thing for me to accept for myself is, ‘Why did I survive those two times?’ Because I’ve known kids that have passed away from stuff,” he said. “That was always a heavy question, ‘Why me?’”
However, Martinez said he’ll keep fighting alongside other people who are going through the same battle. His father believes Isaac is the strongest person in the family and the best person to beat cancer a third time.
“He’s the only one. Yeah, absolutely,” Adam Martinez exclaimed.
The online fundraiser is expected to provide for the family as it takes time off from work to care for Martinez. However, Martinez said he’d like to donate some of the money to other kids going through the same battle.
