Meet the Fresno State student who has been fighting and beating cancer his whole life

What would you do if you had to fight cancer your whole life?

How would you respond if you beat cancer – only to be diagnosed with it again?

Give up? Dedicate all of your energy toward surviving?

Fresno State student Parker Fritsch, who has been battling cancer since he was a toddler, has a better approach. And it has helped him not only beat cancer before, but prepared him to potentially beat cancer again all while excelling in academics and helping others.

“Beating cancer isn’t just about outliving it,” Fritsch said. “It’s doing what you love in spite of it.

“It’s trying something new, trying something different. You can’t expand your horizon by staying in a bubble. You have to enjoy life.”

Fritsch, a freshman, is part of the Smittcamp Family Honors College and earned a full-ride academic scholarship at Fresno State.

The Buchanan High School graduate is majoring in biology and aspires to become a doctor some day to help others and “pay back my debt” to the local community.

If you’ve ever donated blood in town, you might be familiar with some of Fritsch’s work.

Since he was 4, Fritsch and his family have worked with the Central California Blood Center to hold an annual blood drive and bone marrow registration.

He is the Parker – of Parker’s Pals blood drive, which is going on its 15th year.

The drive is credited with saving approximately 18,000 lives since its inception.

Fritsch credits his own survival not only to his doctors but those who’ve assisted his family financially over the years, and others who’ve donated and helped in a myriad of ways.

At just 2 years old, Fritsch found out he had cancer. He’d been running a high fever and antibiotics weren’t working.

After further tests, doctor determined Fritsch had Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Three years later after searching for answers, Fritsch underwent bone marrow transplant surgery at Duke Hospital in Durham, N.C., where his family moved for a few years before eventually moving back to the Fresno area.

It would be the first of eventually 30-plus surgeries in Fritsch’s life. He’s spent more than 300 nights in a hospital, often in isolation.

“I knew some stuff that was going on,” Fritsch said of his memories as a child. “I was aware of the spinal tap and the chemotherapy treatment.

“I was told about the bone morrow transplant and moving to Duke. I was never told when another patient who was living next to me had died. My family kept me in the dark on some stuff. There were only certain things they wanted me to focus on.”

By 2005, Fritsch at 6 years old was cleared of cancer. But in 2007, it was discovered that one of the drugs Fritsch was taking to keep him from getting leukemia again had a side effect of causing a different cancer.

Now it was Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a rare skin cancer Fritsch still lives with. It’s usually not considered life-threatening, though it can spread to other parts of the body and cause serious complications if left untreated.

In addition to checkups every 3 months, Fritsch must avoid being in the sun too long. Another side effect from all of his surgeries and medications is that Fritsch’s growth was stunted.

Though he’s in college, Fritsch admits he could pass as a middle schooler, especially if he shaves and doesn’t wear his glasses.

Looking young might have its perks later in life, but not so much while growing up.

Parker has been the same height since he was 15 – at about 5 feet. His parents are 5-10 and 5-7.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Fritsch said. “Spending all that time in the hospital, missing school then coming back. Students and kids can be judgmental and they don’t always understand everything that’s going on.

“But you have to look at the positives. You remove one tumor and go on with your life. Then you get back and continue to outlive it.”

Though connecting with his peers has been sometimes tough, Fritsch developed strong friendships with some of his teachers.

Among them was Buchanan baseball coach Tom Donald.

The two developed such a tight bond over time, Donald would randomly buy Fritsch a breakfast burrito. He even took Fritsch hunting a few times.

“I just remember seeing Parker walk around campus; he was kind of wandering around alone,” Donald said. “I just said hi, and he ends up in my class later. He was just a very mature kid for his age.

“I consider him a friend. He’s just a lot of fun to be around. And quite honestly, I find him to be very inspirational how he’s persevered through some very difficult times.”

Fritsch ended up becoming part of Donald’s prestigious high school baseball program, helping run the snack bar, ticket booth and the baseball facilities.

He’s taken on a similar clubhouse staffing role with Fresno State coach Mike Batesole’s baseball program.

“It’s not, we’re doing him a favor type of thing – he’s doing us a favor,” Batesole said. “He’s a tremendous worker and a tremendous asset. Just being around him daily, he lightens the mood.

“Once he loosens up a bit, he’s a pretty funny kid. I really enjoy his banter. And he’s not afraid of anything.”

Fritsch also volunteers at Valley Children’s Hospital and is a camp counselor and fundraiser with Camp Sunshine Dreams, an organization that caters toward cancer patients and survivors.

Fritsch drew inspiration to be a camp counselor after attending “First Descents,” another organization helps kids with cancer. The company’s motto is “Out Living It.”

“There always are those days when you’re sick and tired of it all, and maybe you feel like calling it quits,” Fritsch said. “But you have to stay positive.

“If you do what you love, if you can help others, it helps you find reasons worth living.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Meet the Fresno State student who has been fighting and beating cancer his whole life."