FROM IV DRIPS TO ROCKET SHIPS

Hayley Arceneaux on Surviving Cancer—and Blasting Off into Space

by Shavantay Minnis

GROWING UP IN A SMALL TOWN in Louisiana, Hayley Arceneaux never dreamed that by 29, she would become a pediatric cancer survivor—and the youngest American to ever orbit the Earth.

At age ten, Hayley was an active kid. She played a variety of sports including tae kwon do, so when she began developing pain in her leg, no one was particularly concerned.

“I thought I might get an Ace bandage out of it that I could wear to school and look cool. When the doctor told us it was osteosarcoma, which is bone cancer, my parents and I immediately burst into tears,” Hayley recalls. “I thought a cancer diagnosis was the same as a death sentence.”

Life for Hayley became very different. Shortly after her diagnosis, she was admitted to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

“I was terrified. At this point, I still didn't know if I was going to be okay. At the time, I looked at my mom and said, ‘God must hate me. Why else would this be happening?’”

Surprisingly, the answers to her question came during an intense year of chemotherapy and surgeries that put a titanium prosthesis inside of her leg, allowing her to walk. During her recovery, Hayley began to form deep bonds with the doctors, nurses, and other young patients. If she wasn’t in a treatment room, the ten-year-old spent most of her time at the receptionist's desk, greeting guests and patients coming into the hospital. She even earned the title “Gratitude Administrator” for her efforts.

“It was wonderful to be around supportive adults, because it helped me focus on something that was beyond my own sickness and my own pain. They really encouraged me to feel like I had a purpose,” Hayley shares. “I was able to give back and show gratitude instead of just feeling like ‘the sick one.’”

The following year, Hayley beat cancer. And it was because of the kindness, care, and treatment at St. Jude that Hayley promised to one day return and work for that very hospital.

Years later, in 2021, Hayley had made good on her promise to work at St. Jude. She was on staff as a physician’s assistant when the hospital would change her life once more: they invited her to join a mission to space. suspended in the air, floating, paralyzed by just how beautiful the earth looked in front of me. It was so bright and colorful and vibrant. And looking at it, of course, makes you think about how God created this planet, and I felt very close to Him. It deepened my faith and helped me see this purpose He had for my life.”

To raise funds for the hospital, St. Jude proposed that Hayley join the crew as a medical officer. Saying yes to space was the easy part for Hayley. The training that followed would test her in many ways.

For six months, Hayley was taught water survival tactics, and she received hypoxia training and zero-gravity coaching. She also completed simulation drills that prepared her for takeoff and landing. And while she could handle the academics she needed to learn, her concern frequently went back to her leg.

“The prosthesis in my leg has actually broken twice, and each time required replacement surgeries. And the rehab following each of the surgeries was harder and harder, and I lost some mobility with each one,” she says.

But for Hayley, “having faith, I think, really helped bring so much peace.” The day she boarded the spacecraft, there was no fear, just excitement.

“The first time I saw Earth from our cupola, I froze. I was