- I was planning my wedding at the time,
and that was going to be on June 19,
so it was just about two months before the wedding.
I noticed a little nerve symptom in my calf,
and it was every time that I sat down or crossed my legs,
and I felt just a little tiny symptom.
And as a physical therapist, I was looking for an answer
or a reason that it might be happening.
I went for an MRI, and shortly thereafter,
I received the dreaded phone call.
The first thing that I thought of was
I had to call my fiancé and ask him
if he would still want to marry me,
and although that might seem unusual,
I had-- went through losing my brother to cancer,
and I knew what that experience was like,
and I didn't want anybody else to have to go through that.
I also had to call my parents who have already lost their son,
and so...
Oh...sorry.
Sorry.
My brother was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease
at the age of 11,
and he battled it until the age of 29
when lung cancer eventually took his life.
He's been my inspiration on so many levels,
and so when I was diagnosed,
I knew that I wanted to be like him.
I wanted to fight as hard as I could,
just like he did, and I wasn't going to let this beat me.
William: I think one of the benefits
of being here at Penn
is that we have an interdisciplinary sarcoma team,
in fact, have many different interdisciplinary teams at Penn.
There's a great value in all of the people participating
and certainly Arianne's case was presented,
and we were able to communicate with each other
to discuss the sequencing of chemotherapy,
radiation therapy, and surgery.
- After I did my first three rounds of chemotherapy,
I was fortunate enough
that they said that I could get married,
and I could go on my honeymoon to Costa Rica.
So, I did that, and I felt great at my wedding,
had a huge wedding and no one would have ever known,
especially with my beautiful wig,
and then I started radiation treatment.
- I recommended that Arianne move forward
with proton therapy.
First and foremost, given her age,
we know that protons potentially has the ability
to reduce the risk of a radiation-induced cancer
decades in the future.
Using protons allows us to target the tumor
and greatly reduce the collateral exposure
of the radiation to the healthy tissue
that we want to avoid.
And in a young woman such as Arianne,
that's critical to her well-being going forward.
- I've always had a really, really strong passion
for movement and for changing lives.
When I had the opportunity to train for
American Ninja Warrior, it was right up my alley.
I started training when I was in radiation,
and at that point, I felt great.
My leg felt great.
I didn't really have any symptoms,
and once January hit,
I kicked it into full gear and competed in May of 2016.
American Ninja Warrior for me is more about the process.
I'm forced to overcome obstacles,
but I know that I've already overcome the biggest obstacle
in my life, not once but twice,
losing my brother to cancer, and going through it myself.
- I was truly floored by the fact
that she was being so active while on treatment.
That actually changed my perspective on what's possible
and what we should do with patients
in regard to other integrative therapies
besides our conventional cancer therapies.
I think everyone can learn from Arianne.
I think she's a remarkable person.
I think hopefully
this is just another bump in the road for her,
but I think that her purpose is more than just herself.
Arianne: Coming to Penn Medicine
was absolutely one of the best things that I did.
Not only did they have a special sarcoma program,
but they really looked at me as a whole person.
They gave me so many different options.
I have a team of champions that have rallied behind me,
and I know that I can always count on them
for all of my healthcare needs.
I believe that I am stronger mentally and physically
than I've ever been after going through this,
and I know that I can take on anything
that life throws my way.