Emily Paulson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sunnyslope High School for AZPreps365.com

From a young age, Molly Lawrence knew she wanted to play sports, specifically soccer. She loved dribbling the ball in and out of cones, jumping for headers, getting a thrill from scoring a goal and celebrating with teammates.

Little did she know all this would change in a matter of one doctor’s appointment.

Lawrence grew up playing recreational soccer, which eventually led to her joining a competitive team. She thought she would represent her school, Sunnyslope High School, in a soccer jersey. Being a part of a team and participating in extracurricular activities was a part of Molly’s identity. 

In the fall of 2021, following her 8th-grade soccer season, Molly experienced some discomfort in her leg. While scheduling a doctor’s appointment, she thought it would just be some post-season soreness, but her body was going through more.

“I was coming off of soccer season, and I thought it was just really bad shin splints," Molly said. "But with further imaging, it turned out to be a super, super rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma.” 

Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer that arises from bone-forming cells, and it is typically found in adolescents and young adults. 

No one can prepare a child to hear the words “you have cancer.” 

“Honestly, I didn’t know,” Molly said. “I was not expecting cancer at all. I was expecting, I don’t know, maybe a broken leg or maybe I had like a cyst on my bone. I didn’t know what was going on.”

With that, Molly was set to start chemotherapy right away and dive head first into taking on a new battle. She started with three months of chemo, then had a massive surgery followed by six more months of chemo, which all occurred during her eighth-grade year.

“In October of 2021, I had my leg surgery where they had to give me a knee replacement for my tibia because of the tumor that had grown there, and that was crazy,” Molly said.

“I didn’t even know what I was getting into when they were going to do the surgery. It was a huge surgery. I was supposed to be non-weight bearing for a year, and that was intense.”

Having a knee replacement means relearning how to walk from scratch as a 14-year-old. Instead of enjoying summer with friends and time off of school, Molly was inside, relearning basic gross motor skills. 

“Freshman year, I went back to school in a wheelchair because I was still relearning how to walk from my surgery,” Molly said. “In the fall of 2022, I relearned how to walk and got back on my feet and then the rest of the year was good.” 

Looking forward to a sophomore year with hopes of a fresh start without a wheelchair and finding a way back into athletics, a new opportunity materialized. 

Sunnyslope has had a boys golf team since 2011, which has a rich history. The team has held tryouts each season, but there was no girls team. 

That all changed when junior Caroline Gibson decided to try out for the boys team. Though she didn’t make the team, she was in the final pairing, playing for the spot. Assistant boys coach Jens Erie realized there was an opportunity at hand.

“She (Gibson) was telling me after trials that there were a whole bunch of girls that would have come and tried out, but they were just too intimidated,” Erie said. 

After much paperwork and data collection on girls golf interest at Sunnyslope, the Arizona Interscholastic Association approved a team. With a team being created comes the issue of equipment, which made Erie attend a PTO meeting asking for money for team uniforms. Luckily, Molly’s mom, Sarah Lawrence, was there to hear about this new team.

“I was at a PTO meeting, and he was coming to the PTO asking for money for a grant because it was the girls’ first year of having a golf team,” Sarah said.

“I was like, ‘if you have some space or if you have a practice squad, Molly would like to come out and give it a try.’ And he said, ‘we would love to have Molly. She’s the best, we love seeing her around campus.’ It was just the warmest welcome.”

Molly joined the team, bonded with the girls, found a way to be on a team again and enjoyed being a teenager. From laughing and listening to Taylor Swift on the bus rides to getting food before and after matches, she enjoyed what high school athletics had to offer.

“The team has been great. We had five girls last year and then this year we had seven girls,” Molly said. “All the girls are super nice, super welcoming. They’re all a bunch of really smart, talented ladies. And they kind of just welcomed me with open arms.”

Molly Lawrence at her golf match representing Sunnyslope High School. (Photo courtsey of Molly Lawrence)

When Molly’s sophomore golf season ended, so did Molly’s freedom. Her cancer had come back. She got to attend the end-of-year banquet but broke the news to  Erie and the girls that she would have to undergo surgery. 

“My cancer came back in my lungs this time, and they took it out, and I didn’t do any chemo,” Molly said. “And then, in the spring of 2024 (end of sophomore year), it came back again, and it was in both lungs, so I did six months of chemo. I started chemo in March and did it all the way through September, so I missed the first month of school.”

Molly had, in theory, fallen off the face of the earth for more than half of sophomore year and summer going into junior year. She had returned to school after months of treatment without hardly leaving the hospital. Her treatments were intense: staying in the hospital for a week getting treatment and then another week at home. 

“I was bald and had no hair, and that was really hard, but I got to be on the golf team when I came back to school. I dropped back right at the start of the season,” Molly said. “It was really, really special to have those people there who kind of understood what I was going through and who I could still have fun with and play sports with.”

Molly’s family, friends, coaches, staff and the community were there for her during the most challenging times, yet she was the most positive. Erie said how much she brightens everyone else’s day. 

“She’s so nice to the other team. Everything is just 100% positivity with her,” Erie said. “It’s great having her on the team because some of the girls can get really down on themselves and they’re sad, but Molly’s so positive and happy all the time despite everything she’s going through.”

Erie and Molly’s mom, Sarah, emphasized how incredible a human she is outside of sports. She is in honors courses, does public speaking for the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and is on the Children’s Advisory Board, a Patient and Family Advisory Council for kids. 

“I am most proud of how resilient she is,” Sarah said. “We’ve done the cancer thing three times. We’ve done chemo twice. She has missed out on so many teenage things that she should get to do, and while it has brought us this appreciation for the things that we have and it’s put things into perspective, sometimes it just kind of sucks. The resiliency that she’s had to show is more than anybody should have to show in their lifetime.”

Resiliency shows in all aspects of Molly’s life, not just in battling cancer. Resiliency in keeping relationships with people, resiliency in playing sports and resiliency in not being afraid to share her story and mental health struggles.

“There’s been times where I have nothing to talk about at therapy, and things are going so good and there’s been times where we sit there for two hours and we talk,” Molly said. “I always say I think my therapist has saved my life just as much as my oncologist has because I truly don’t think I would be here if it weren’t for her.”

Mental health struggles are common with cancer patients. According to the American Cancer Society, patients can have feelings of anxiety, distress, depression and loneliness. 

“There wasn’t a lot going on outside of cancer in my life at the time,” Molly said. “Having an outlet where I can challenge myself and set goals and have fun was really, really important to me and I think golf is totally a part of my treatment.”

Molly Lawrence with her two sisters on vacation. (Photo courtesy of Molly Lawrence)

Molly’s perspective on life has changed since being diagnosed with cancer. Things you might believe are top priorities and realizing what is most valuable comes into 20/20 vision.

“I’ve learned what’s important to me and I’ve learned not to take anything for granted,” Molly said. “Sometimes I’ll be sitting in class and wish I could go home, but I’m like, you know what, at least I’m not sitting in the hospital getting chemo.”

More than halfway through junior year and five months post-chemo, Molly recently got clear scans. That is the news every cancer patient dreams of hearing and what she has longed to hear. 

Finishing this year strong and heading into senior year, Molly wants to soak it all in. Another season of playing golf with her best friends, meeting new team members and growing the girls golf program in the Sunnyslope community.

“I’m so thankful for golf, the sport and the golf program, especially at Sunnyslope,” Molly said.