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Luke Weber Got Cancer at Age 3. Now 19, He Sees the Perils of Overprotection

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Read Time: 1 minute

Luke Weber is a 19-year-old New Yorker about to start Rice University. He contacted Let Grow when he heard about our mission — promoting childhood independence.

You might think that someone diagnosed with Stage Four Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma at age three — someone who went through 10 years of radiation, surgery and chemotherapy — wouldn’t have had much chance to BE independent as a child. But in fact, Luke looked around, saw how much he was able to deal with, and realized how much society was underestimating most kids’ resilience.

Luke says he wasn’t even the most bubble-wrapped kid he knew — and his friends did not have serious health issues!

He is so grateful for parents who let him become the independent person he is — although part of that is thanks to his own irrepressible spirit. (In 9th grade he snuck off to Times Square on his own, and has had enjoyed some similar escapades since.)

Luke’s spirit, smarts, and sense of humor make him our very first Let Grow Ambassador.

Go Luke!

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