It was late January 2023, and Savannah Byers woke up one morning with a stiff neck after sleeping on it wrong. As she rubbed one side of her neck, she noticed a lump. She mentioned it to her roommate, but the two of them didn’t think it was anything significant.
Several weeks later, while Savannah was home in Lancaster, PA, during Geneva’s spring break, she had some tests done at the insistence of her parents. The results were inconclusive, and she returned to campus not overly concerned.
Following more biopsies at the end of the school year, Savannah received a call from her doctor on May 30. She was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. The news initially stunned her, but she showed immediate resolve.
“The day I received my diagnosis, I told my parents that I don’t care what happens, I’m going back to school and I’m playing volleyball."
She received her first of eight cancer treatments in late June. Those treatments were every other Friday morning and involved receiving drugs through a port, wiping her out for the upcoming weekend.
The treatments continued into her senior year. Her father drove the four hours to campus on Thursdays to bring her home for Friday morning treatments. Immediately after treatment, they would return to campus. Though she couldn’t play in those weekend matches, she wanted to be with her teammates on the bench.
“God gave me this cancer when He knew I could handle it, when I had the support system of not just my family, but also my volleyball team and everyone at Geneva.”
In September 2023, the volleyball team organized a blood cancer drive while hosting Grove City for a match. Grove City’s head coach Leo Sayles has also endured a battle with myeloma, and the drive raised awareness of the disease as well as $1,000 for blood cancer research.
Savannah received her last treatment in October 2023 and has since been declared cancer free.
“People probably find it strange that I still played volleyball while undergoing these treatments, but volleyball seemed to give me so much energy. Even just the daily practices were such a help to me.”
Near the end of her four years, Savannah felt a calling to teaching despite finishing up a biology degree. She chose to remain at Geneva for another year to receive her teaching certificate, allowing her to use her extra year of eligibility due to COVID and play one final season of volleyball.
After spending her first four seasons as a middle hitter, Savannah pursued Geneva’s recently open setter position. Though she had never played the position before, hard work at the beginning of the season paid off and Savannah became Geneva’s full-time setter and a key starter for the women this season.
“I’ve seen why I was supposed to be here for one more season, and it wasn’t just for our athletic performance. It was to be there for teammates, to be a leader, and to impact them beyond just volleyball. This year I was in much better shape to be able to enjoy my final season of volleyball.”
Savannah’s faith in God through the challenges of the past year is what enabled her to retain a positive outlook and be such an encouragement to others.
“The testimony God’s given me through this I can use to impact other people, and this diagnosis has opened a lot of conversations I wouldn’t have had before. My hope is that my story will glorify God and that I can spread my blessings to others who have had to endure all the trials that cancer brings.”
By Chris Mathews '00
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