Distractions abound as Stephanie Flood sits on a couch in a lounge in the Student Center.

Musicians sing and play the piano behind her. Random people chat and mingle. The room is packed with heavy, hot air. But Flood, a junior communication major, doesn’t let these disturbances get in the way of explaining two things close to her heart: the fight against cancer and the upcoming Relay for Life.

“I think of myself as a typical 21-year-old,” Flood said. “My dedication to cancer is what separates me from people my age.”

As a four-time brain cancer survivor, she is a rarity among NIU students and college-aged Americans in general.

She acts as co-coordinator of Relay for Life, which is held annually to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society. Among other ways, Flood tries to get the word out about it by discussing her battle with the disease.

“I love to share my story. I love to give people hope,” the talkative, cheery Flood said.

Flood’s story starts when she was 9 years old. After becoming ill with flu-like symptoms, she went to a doctor, who knew from looking into her eyes that there was undue pressure being put on her brain. A CAT scan revealed that Flood had a rare ependymoma tumor. The doctor at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago told Flood’s parents that surgery would leave her blind, deaf, paralyzed and handicapped.

In what Flood calls a “miracle,” however, none of those prognostications came true.

“That’s how I can tell my story today,” she said.

The tumor returned Christmas 2000. It was removed and, afterward, Flood was prescribed what she called a “horse pill” because of its size.

A year later the tumor came back. Technological advances allowed Flood to become the fourth child at Children’s Memorial to try Gamma Knife surgery. In this treatment, a patient wears a helmet as a high dose of radiation is beamed directly at the tumor, Flood said.

Technology improved yet again by the time her tumor returned in 2002. Flood, then a high school freshman, received Intrabeam treatment, which uses a wand-like device to direct radiation precisely at the tumor.

“She lived [through] something that is everyone’s worst nightmare, and she doesn’t want anyone else to go through it,” said Kerri Nelson, income development manager of the Fox Valley Region of ACS.

While Flood has been cancer-free for seven years, in 2005 she had a stroke that was a likely side effect of years of radiation treatments. It left the left side of her face numb.

Last semester, a fluid in her brain called “matter” affected her speech, handwriting ability and balance, but Flood, who enjoys photography, music and movies, is feeling better.

“If some good can come out of my being sick, I hope I can bring it out,” Flood said. “Why have I been so fortunate? So other people will be informed about it, and I can help them in some way. That’s what I was meant for.”