Auburn cheerleader Cam Monistere AUTLIVES cancer

AUBURN, Ala. – Cameron Monistere followed his older brother Cooper, first to Auburn University then onto the cheerleading squad.

After playing football and baseball, and winning a state bowling championship at Vestavia Hills High School near Birmingham, Cam started cheering for Auburn as a sophomore.

“It is physically exerting,” the senior said. “When I got here I wanted the team camaraderie.”

As a culinary science major in the College of Human Sciences, Monistere wanted an extracurricular activity that would help him stay in shape.

Cam first learned to cook as a 6-year-old, developing his skills years later as a preteen when his mother would declare “fend for ourselves” nights when Monistere would get home late after practices.

“Whenever I can, I cook for my friends,” he said. “I think I can cook Italian the best. My dish that everyone raves about is my salmon dish.”

After graduating in May, Monistere will move to Austin, Texas, to begin a full-time position at Auberge Resorts’ management development program at Commodore Perry Estate.

On a campus bustling with busy students, Cam Monistere’s calendar is as full as anyone’s. Class, cheer practice and games, Greek life, two jobs.

That didn’t stop Monistere from seeing a doctor when he noticed a lump on the left side of his throat in early 2022. 

Referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist last summer, Monistere first underwent a needle biopsy, then a surgical biopsy which led to a tearful phone call with his mom.

“She had been crying,” he said. “I could tell something was up. I remember her telling me that I had cancer.

“The next thing I remember was staring at myself in the mirror and being like, ‘We’re just going to kick it.’ That’s the only option we really have.”

Monistere drew motivation from a quote he’d heard from his father.

“When Judgment Day comes, you stand before God knowing you’ve done everything you can do.”

“We’re just going to win,” said Monistere, who was diagnosed with nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma, or NLPHL, a cancer of the immune system.

“Which is the rarest form of lymphoma in the world, but it also is a lesser aggressive form,” he said.

Wary of photon radiation, which would have threatened the salivary glands he’ll need as a chef, Monistere opted for a more targeted proton therapy.

“I take pride in having a very good palette,” he said.

Before radiation was scheduled to begin, Cam received weekly immunotherapy infusions of a monoclonal antibody known as rituximab, driving to UAB on Tuesdays during the fall semester.

“My mentality was: win, add it to the schedule,” he said.  “I didn’t miss a practice, I didn’t miss a game, I didn’t miss school.” 

Less than five months after being diagnosed with NLPHL, before needing radiation, Monistere’s scans were clear. He was cancer free. Checkups every six months, he hopes, will help Cam remain that way.

Monistere’s story aligns with AUTLIVE, Auburn basketball’s fight against cancer. Inspired by former Tennessee standout and cancer survivor Chris Lofton, head coach Bruce Pearl brought AUTLIVE to Auburn, raising money for local cancer patients through donations and t-shirt sales while promoting awareness and early detection.

“After November, when I had gone into remission, part of my message was – and a lot of it is because of Coach Pearl – the faster you find something, the better off you are,” Monistere said.

“I urge people to get checkups, go check and see, even if you feel fine. Just in case. I want to push that everyone be proactive about getting checked out.”

On Feb. 11, Monistere will be cheering when Auburn hosts Alabama in the annual AUTLIVE Cancer game. A supporter and a survivor.

“It will be awesome,” he said. “That’s a surreal moment. I will be very excited about it.”

In January, Monistere lost his grandmother, Sarah Moreland, to an ocular brain tumor, redefining forever how he views cancer patients.

“She was my inspiration,” he said. “When you see someone losing their hair due to chemotherapy or they seem sick, don’t think of them as a sickly person. Think of them as a warrior who is fighting the hardest fight of their life.

“I want people around the world to think about people who are fighting cancer as warriors, like knights, as opposed to, ‘they’re sick,’ because that’s how I saw my grandmother.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer