Health3 min(s) read
Published 11:15 11 May 2026 GMT
While trying out for the football team, sporty 16-year-old Cameron Rider became unusually out of breath, but it wasn’t until months later that he found out the sinister reason why.
After the trials, the Vermont high-schooler’s symptoms worsened, and he was taken to hospital by his parents as he had a 105-degree fever.
Rider was then diagnosed with pneumonia, but the antibiotics he had been prescribed to treat it weren’t making the symptoms any better, and months later, Rider was hospitalized again, given steroids and more antibiotics, which did not ease his symptoms.
Rider told CBS News: "What they were doing beforehand wasn't cutting it ... but I wasn't too worried.
"I was being told that it was pneumonia, that it was just recurring constantly, and there might be a little bit of a blockage or something else that might be going on."
After months of failed treatments, Rider had a camera put down his throat to look at his lungs and airways, known as a bronchoscopy.
Immediately, doctors spotted a mass that they then sent for testing. When the results came back, they found Rider had a rare form of cancer called mucoepidermoid carcinoma in his lung.
Although it usually affects the salivary glands, it can grow in other parts of the body.
Tragically describing this moment, Rider said: "My first thought was obviously if I was going to die or not.
"It was the first thing that popped in my head."
It was then decided by Dr. Danielle Cameron, the surgical director for pediatric oncology at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, that Rider would undergo an upper lobectomy that would remove part of his left lung.
Rider had the surgery in May 2023, and thankfully, doctors were able to remove the entire tumor, but his recovery was “tough” and filled with a “lot of pain”.
Rider explained: "They were constantly getting me up and moving so I could try to re-expand my lungs and get used to not having that upper left lobe.
"It started off very slow. It was painful. It was hard, but the more and more I did it, and the more help I got from staff there, the easier and easier it got."
Miraculously, within just a few months, Rider was able to return to playing sports. The teenager was extremely “thankful” he could play soccer, basketball, and hockey during his senior year.
Rider, now 19, is applying to colleges while he works as a referee and plays hockey.
Describing Rider’s recovery, the doctor said: "He's had a perfect outcome. You couldn't ask for a more athletically accomplished patient after a lobectomy."
