Before Lucas Shearers’ cleats are laced and his feet hit the field, he’s reminded of all of his blessings: an undying support system, a college education he fought to continue, but most importantly, a treatable diagnosis.
The University of Central Arkansas graduate student and Hawaii native started his collegiate career like any other skilled soccer player, chasing the dream of being a student-athlete at a Division I university.
After a short stint at Robert Morris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shearer decided to enter the transfer portal and become a Bear.
“I was recruited to go to a school in Pittsburgh called Robert Morris,” Shearer said. “I was there for a year and a half, and it wasn’t the right fit. So I entered the transfer portal and ended up transferring here.”
It wasn’t until his 2024 season that Shearer received shocking news that changed his senior year of college. After weeks of chest tightness, shortness of breath and cold-like symptoms, a doctor’s visit revealed a terrifying reality: Shearers’ CT exposed a large mass.
“It was in September of last year, which was actually a few days before my birthday,” Shearer said. “I had been sick for about a month before, and when I was sick, it presented as normal cold symptoms…So I went back, and they did an X-ray, which wasn’t amazing, and they saw a mass in my chest. It was huge…and they said it was like 16.7 centimeters.”
A CT scan from Baptist Hospital confirmed the diagnosis, and doctors recommended that Shearer visit an oncologist for further treatment.
“I found out I had 10 to 15 different, smaller tumors in my chest,” Shearer said. “My doctor was like, ‘You have cancer, but where it is and what it’s presenting as, it might be Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.’ I really did think I was gonna die.”
Shearer then had to expedite moving out of his college apartment and returned to Hawaii to receive treatment in his home state. After he left, he continued taking his courses online at UCA and started doing his intense treatments by the end of October. Shearer said he would receive treatment twice a month, his treatments lasting from late October until April of 2025.
“It was about five hours, and then I’d have the rest of the week to rest,” Shearer said. “It was hectic…So for six months, I did two rounds of chemo in each month.
“My professors were really accommodating with that very unique situation. I was taking five courses that semester, and I had three online and two in-person. So, the in-person classes… they both had tailored the class to where it could be taken online. They were also super accommodating and very helpful with that.”
After his last treatment in April, his doctor accompanied his last scans with hopeful news.
“I did two scans after treatment… a month following, and he said, ‘that’s it,’” Shearer said.
His doctor urged him to stay healthy, watch his sugar intake and return to a normal life.
Not only did this diagnosis seemingly uproot Shearer’s life, but it also taught him about the importance of staying positive and treating every day as a blessing.
“Always look at life and say, ‘I’m glad I’m here each day to do the most that I can do,’” Shearer said. “It was hard, and taking that day and seeing that I’m not sick anymore, and it’s great. Looking at the world and being able to admire how beautiful it is is a blessing. I’m happy to be here…All that really matters is getting up and trying.”
After his long-fought battle during his senior year, Shearer returned to UCA for a final season and to earn his final degree. As he pursues his MBA, it’s evident that Shearers’ blessings do not go uncounted. His story serves as a reminder of what true resilience and the power of positivity can do in the face of bad news.
Feature Photo Credit: UCA Sports
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