How a teen found "a sense of control" as she fought cancer
Alayna Riozzi-Bodine was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma the summer before her senior year of high school.
August 22, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News
Alayna Riozzi-Bodine had expected the summer before her senior year of high school to be tiring. She was a lifeguard at her local New Jersey beach and training for a triathlon, all while preparing for the upcoming school year.
Still, she found herself utterly exhausted, "mentally and physically." The day before her race, she told her dad that she felt like she was dying. One month later, her mother noticed a mass the size of a golf ball over her right clavicle. The discovery set off a whirlwind of medical appointments and tests. High school faded into the background.
"I didn't even attend my full first week of senior year," Riozzi-Bodine said. "I was like, 'How is this happening to me?' I honestly couldn't believe the position I was in."
Riozzi-Bodine was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma in September 2021. For a young woman in the "prime of athleticism," the news was shocking — and devastating.
"I remember sitting in the room getting the diagnosis. The first couple thoughts that ran through my head — first, 'Am I going to live?'" Riozzi-Bodine recalled. "And then, second, it was 'Am I going to lose all my hair?' Being 17, being an adolescent, your hair is such a big part of your identity. When you think of a cancer patient, your mind goes to someone who is bald. I was really scared of losing myself through treatment. I was honestly terrified of it."