Kashton Rhodes wasn’t going to miss his senior year.

Rhodes has played multiple games for Van-Far football this year, but he has faced an opponent bigger than Louisiana or Bowling Green. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the summer and has had $1,938 raised by the Van-Far community, as of Oct. 4, for his continued fight against the disease. 

Rhodes turned out to be lucky after a traffic accident. While luck is far from the first word that comes to mind in that situation, the frontal scan revealed something more concerning.

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“They did a CT scan, and that’s how they found the cancer,” head coach Lucas Gibson said. “I told him it’s thanks to God that they found it. Otherwise, he felt normal, but that stuff keeps growing. God works in mysterious ways.”

“I just think it’s God,” Rhodes said, “He has reasons why things happen. Who knows where I would be later on in life if I didn’t get into this wreck?”

Gibson said Rhodes had the procedure to remove his thyroid, located in the neck, on the first day of football season. He returned for Senior Night against Louisiana two weeks later when he had 4.5 tackles.

It wasn’t pleasant for Rhodes after he had the surgery. He recalls feeling “terrible” and he could barely move his neck, with a tube coming out his neck to give him required fluids.

“After surgery, they said it was a good thing I decided to get my whole thyroid removed because they were going to take half of it out, but then they found out there were lymph nodes that were cancerous,” Rhodes said. “I would need to have another surgery (if half removed), but I decided to get it done so I wouldn’t have to do it again.”

Thyroid cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in adolescents and young adults, according to the Mayo Clinic. The endocrine gland “makes and releases certain hormones. Your thyroid's main job is to control your metabolism — how your body uses energy,” according to the Mayo Clinic. It affects bodily functions, including but not limited to, heart rate, breathing, digestion and body temperature. 

Before Rhodes could get back in football shape, he needed to go back to school. A couple hours after surgery, Rhodes said he could walk around but not at his best yet and then he was up around doing tasks by himself two or three days later. 

“It was about a week later that I got tired sitting around, so I went to school,” Rhodes said. “I was worn out walking from one side of the building to the other. That second week came, and I felt great and I thought I was ready to play.”

Gibson said the resilience of Rhodes goes even beyond the cancer. Ten days before Rhodes played his third game of the year on Homecoming against Bowling Green, he sprained his ankle and had to walk on crutches. Still, he was back on the field against the Bobcats.

Ever since he’s known Rhodes in junior high, Gibson said he has been courageous. His ankle wasn’t completely healthy, but he was still out there playing. He had his thyroid removed but was playing with the Indians two weeks later, so Gibson couldn’t help but describe that as “pretty amazing.”

“I have nothing but great things to say about the kid,” Gibson said. “He’s been a four-year player for me. He’s become a leader this year. I’m super proud of him.”

Rhodes said he felt scared when he made his season debut because he still had the scar from the surgery, which he wrapped up, but he said it hasn’t affected his play on the field. He added he doesn’t feel any different during his daily life, but in the offseason, Rhodes said he’ll have to take radioactive iodine for a week, which will make him feel “super sick” and keep him out of school for that week because he can’t be around others during that time. Rhodes said he will be scanned before that to check if the cancer has spread anywhere else.

Even in times when Rhodes feels scared or uncertain, he has plenty of people supporting him. The fans who showed up for the Homecoming game raised that money after the Van-Far High School office accepted donations the past two weeks, and athletics director Robbie Bates said people can still send in money to contribute to Rhodes’s medical bills. Rhodes has felt the support from his community and others such as when Bowling Green led a prayer circle after the game and when Mark Twain raised about $1,000 two weeks prior.

“It means a lot to me,” Rhodes said. “It made me emotional. It’s nice knowing that I have people on my side.”

Whether it’s a car wreck, cancer or injury, Rhodes is not going to let anything ruin his senior year.

“When I first found out about it, I was honestly freaking out,” Rhodes said. “It’s my senior year, and I get diagnosed with cancer. I had surgery and kind of rushed myself back to be honest. That’s just how I am. I rush myself because I love the game of football.”