Boston Conservatory freshman, cancer survivor giving back to community that helped her heal

BOSTON — Hundreds will hop on spin bikes in Boston this weekend and ride for rare cancer research. It’s the annual Cycle for Survival event. Boston 25 News Anchor Kerry Kavanaugh talked to a local college student and cancer survivor who says she’s raising money so others can get the same life-saving treatment that she did.

Gabby Bubrick, 19, takes us back to her freshman year of high school when her battle against cancer began.

“I didn’t really feel any symptoms other than I had noticed a lump on my neck,” Bubrick said.

Bubrick and her mom decided it was best to get it checked out. They never expected the news they got.

“Eventually found Memorial Sloan Kettering, where I was then diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” Bubrick said.

She started chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, which specializes in rare cancers. All childhood cancers are considered rare. It was during treatment, doctors noted something with her thyroid.

“Later on, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.”

Bubrick spent months battling 2 cancers simultaneously, which is extremely rare in young people. Gabby was only 15 at the time, a high school freshman.

“Hearing like that I had cancer was just…it’s crazy. I didn’t know anyone my age who had cancer,” Bubrick said. “I was completely happy. I just started high school. So, it was really scary.”

And it was March of 2020. Covid hit. Her cancer treatments and surgeries became even more isolating. But Bubrick says she found strength in her new community.

“I definitely found community especially with the nurses there who were like, you know, they’re younger. And it was just really nice. I wrote like a list on my phone of, like, every single one of their names that I still have.”

Nearly four years later, Bubrick is in remission. Now a college freshman in college at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

And she’s ready to give back to that community that gave so much to her.

Cycle for Survival is a fundraising event that happens all over the country. On Saturday in Boston, Bubrick will hop on a bike for the first time, raising money for rare cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

She’ll be alongside other rare cancer survivors, patients and supporters, just like she was when she was sick.

“So, I just feel like I really want to give back to the place that gave so much to me, and I want to give other people the opportunity to receive treatment like I did,” Bubrick says.

Cycle for Survival has raised more than $350 million dollars since 2007.

In Boston, nearly 1,000 participants are expected to ride at Equinox Sports Club Boston. All funds go directly to MSK to fund cancer research.

Boston 25 News anchor Kerry Kavanaugh will be back on the bike too this weekend. If you want to donate, click here.

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