News File Photo Alpena senior Alayna Nugent competes in the 800 run during the Alpena News Honor Roll Invitational at Alcona High School last week. Nugent was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in September and has undergone surgery and treatment to run track during her senior season.

In seven years of watching the annual Alpena News Track and Field Honor Roll Invitational, it has never ceased to amaze me.

Between the sheer amount of talented gathered there, seeing athletes from different area schools mingle and the chance to watch longstanding meet records fall, it truly is a great showcase for athletes to test themselves among the area’s best after working hard all season.

It’s doubtful anyone worked harder for that chance this season than Alayna Nugent,

Nugent, an Alpena senior, went through the normal ups-and-downs of a high school athlete this year, but she went through all of it while being treated for cancer.

Last fall, Nugent was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent treatment, surgery and worked hard just to be able to run for the Wildcats this season.

Through all of it, Nugent credits running as being her saving grace.

“It means so much more than it would have any other year had I done track. I think running, it means so much more to me now, because without running I would have never found out I had cancer,” Nugent said. “Every step I take, I think, ‘I’m going to be a survivor’ and running has gotten me through this.”

For as much joy as Nugent now feels by running, it was repeated pain caused by running that ultimately saved her life.

Nugent ran cross country all through high school, but dealt with repeated stress fractures in her legs and until last fall she never knew why. Depending on the severity of the fracture, it can take several weeks to heal, but Nugent got them every year she ran around the midway point of the season, including last fall.

Bullis and Nugent looked at Nugent’s levels of different nutrients such as calcium and iron and looked at different running shoes among other things to figure out the problem, but nothing revealed itself.

Why did it keep happening?

“She was a mystery to us because she was doing everything right. She was training in the summer, wearing good shoes, taking care of her body,” Alpena cross country coach Joy Bullis said. “Why you? You’re the last person who should be getting those.”

Needing answers, Nugent eventually met with an endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in treating hormonal imbalances, to find a solution to her problem. Bone health is a common condition treated by endocrinologists and Nugent was sent there as a last resort.

It was then the doctor discovered a thyroid nodule and sent it for testing. The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, found just below the Adam’s Apple. The gland secretes thyroid hormones, which affect many of the body’s systems. The hormones are important for natural growth and development, increase the rate and strength of a person’s heartbeat and can affect one’s metabolism.

Getting a cancer diagnosis is never good, but in Nugent’s case she found out on one of the worst days for a high school senior: the first day of school.

Nugent was already planning on her senior year being a busy one with dual enrollment in college and several AP classes on her schedule, but when she got home that day, she was thrown another curve ball.

She learned she had cancer.

” It was a happy day of new classes and reuniting with friends and then, bam, I’m diagnosed with cancer,” Nugent said. “I was of course shocked and scared, but once I found out it was not terminal, I was like, ok, I can stay optimistic about it and take it day by day.”

Thyroid cancer is a rare form of cancer and fewer than 200,000 cases are diagnosed each year. There’s no immediate cause of thyroid cancer and usually there are no outward physical indications that anything is wrong.

Fortunately, most thyroid cancers are curable and in younger patients, the percentage of cure rate is in the 90s if it’s treated appropriately.

For Nugent, the initial diagnosis came as a shock, but she resolved early on to remain optimistic and become a cancer survivor. In November, she had her thyroid removed along with 30 lymph nodes. Since then she’s done radioactive iodine treatments at the University of Michigan and takes a synthetic hormone every day to regulate her hormones. The radioactive iodine process involves ingesting radioactive iodine to concentrate on cancerous cells in the thyroid area without harming the rest of the body. The treatment required Nugent to stay in isolation for about a week, since she is considered radioactive.

Through it all, Nugent remained committed to being a normal high school senior. Her teachers worked with her to get her her assignments and Nugent always made sure to finish her classwork, even if it meant finishing it in the early hours of the morning.

“It’s been a kind of a battle of course with a rigorous class schedule and dual enrollment in college,” Nugent said. “It was a challenge of course and still is. My teachers, they worked with me so well this year and I have multiple AP classes, so that was kind of challenging.”

At the beginning of the spring sports season, Nugent had no doubt about what she wanted to do.

“Ultimately that’s kind of why I decided to do track,” Nugent said. “There’s a reason why there’s a connection between running and the thyroid and finding the cancer quickly was kind of my reason to do running instead of softball.”

Despite not running all winter, Nugent showcased herself as one of Alpena’s top middle distance runners during the season. She posted Alpena’s second fastest time in the 400 dash this season (1:07.14) and the third fastest times in the 800 (2:42.14) and 1,600 runs (6:01.92). She was also part of Alpena’s 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams at different times during the season.

All season long, teammates and coaches were supportive and Bullis was thrilled to see Nugent bounce back.

“I was very proud of her, having not run since cross country season. I was very proud of her to come back and want to be there.” Bullis said. “She’s a fabulous athlete who never had time to show anybody that (due to injuries).”

At last week’s Honor Roll meet in Lincoln, Nugent got one final chance to showcase herself and turned in a solid performance. She took second place in the 400 dash, finished fourth in the 800 run and was part of Alpena’s winning 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams.

Nugent has one more treatment in August and hopes by then to be declared cancer-free. Coincidentally, she’ll be attending Michigan in the fall.

On Sunday, Nugent stepped to the podium during Alpena High School’s 2017 Commencement Ceremony and talked about how she and the 287 other graduating members of Alpena’s senior class were a collection of trailblazers and pioneers, ready to take on the world and overcome any adversity they might face.

After all she’s dealt with, her positive outlook throughout and her dedication to athletics, Nugent already looks to be well on her way to become a trailblazer.

“Many have seen it as an inspiration because I do stay optimistic and positive about it. I don’t look down upon it, it’s a reason to be thankful I’m alive. It’s a blessing to be here,” Nugent said. “I look at running as my saving grace because if it weren’t for running, I probably wouldn’t even know I had cancer right now.”

James Andersen can be reached via email at sports@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5694. Follow James on Twitter @ja_alpenanews.