When starting up a student organization on UW-Whitewater’s campus, one has to consider how to balance their classes, homework and free time with their new responsibility. For Mark Liederbach, he had to add cancer treatments to that list.

Last November, Liederbach began to notice signs of cancer, and after several doctors’ visits, had to undergo surgery to find out the final diagnosis.

“I was in recovery from my surgery when I received the phone call from the doctor,” Liederbach said. “They told me I had stage two testicular cancer.”

Soon after Liederbach received the news, he was sent back into surgery to get a port placed in his chest for chemotherapy injections. The following Monday he started his first of three cycles of chemotherapy.

Despite all of the appointments, treatments and personal struggles, Liederbach, a freshman at the time, made the decision to stay in school throughout chemotherapy instead of returning home to Greendale, Wis.

“My oncologist made it clear that the most important thing was my health,” Liederbach said. “But I was motivated to continue classes so I could have something to do besides treatment.”

Liederbach, who had already registered for his spring classes at the time, ended up taking six credits opposed to his original 16.

One of the biggest struggles for Liederbach was dealing with the emotional side of cancer, he said.

“There was some depression, thoughts of ‘why me?” and times where I felt like such a burden,” Liederbach said. “I couldn’t drive, and I relied a lot on others to take care of me.”

Striving not to let chemotherapy take over, Liederbach came up with the idea to launch a website, called The Cancer Fight, when he was undergoing treatments in January.

“At the time, the website was a place to blog about treatment updates,” Liederbach said. “As things began to quiet down, I saw the potential of what this blog could come to be.”

The Cancer Fight is now a place where people can donate to organizations, view links and resources for other charities and local cancer support groups, and keep up to date with Liederbach’s journey.

“Our goals are providing opportunities on campus, doing outreach to the community and oncology clinics, and visiting patients,” Liederbach said. “Being there to talk with patients can make a world of difference.”

Nicole Pumarada, Liederbach’s girlfriend and a member of The Cancer Fight, was one of Liederbach’s biggest supports throughout treatment.

“I was nervous at first when he thought to start the organization because he was already going through so much,” Pumarada said. “But I was also happy that he didn’t let cancer push him down.”

Liederbach has fundraised up to $1200 and has been working on spreading word about The Cancer Fight and getting the information on multiple social media websites.

“I used Google+ to host a video chat where anyone could talk about cancer,” Liederbach said. “I had someone from Germany, another from India and a stem cell researcher join.”

Still on his road to recovery, Liederbach has regular doctor appointments and CAT scans every month to make sure things are normal.

“I am happy that something so good is coming out of such a negative situation,” Pumarada said. “Some people just choose to give up, but Mark wanted to share his story and help others.”

To get involved with The Cancer Fight, check them out on Facebook, Twitter, or visit www.thecancerfight.org.

“One of the biggest points to forward to cancer patients is that your life doesn’t stop because you have treatment,” Liederbach said. “There is life after treatment; you just have to live through it with a purpose.”