Nathanael Tejeda of Nashua will be running in his first Boston Marathon next month. Courtesy photo/Massachusetts General Hospital

NASHUA – In 2019, Nathanael Tejeda of Nashua went to the doctor for what he thought were swollen lymph nodes; however, it turned out to be something far more serious: Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

At the time of his diagnosis, Tejeda was 17 years old and a senior at Nashua High School South. Affectionately known as Smiley, he was on the wrestling, football and baseball teams and was a three-letter athlete.

“As a senior in high school there was lots of uncertainty and fear after being diagnosed with cancer,” he said, adding that he was admitted to the Pediatric Oncology Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital and underwent eight months of radiation and chemotherapy. “I was treated with the best care. They made a very terrible set of circumstances feel like a walk in the park. A walk that no kid should ever have to endure.”

For the 2019 Boston Marathon, Tejeda was partnered with Eva Melanson as part of the hospital’s Marathon Patient Partner Program.

“She was a role model to me and I aspired to follow in her footsteps, quite literally,” he said.

Six years later, Tejeda is now 23 years old, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — and will be running in the Boston Marathon next month.

“To run my first marathon in Boston through MGH is an extreme honor, the MGH Pediatric Oncology crew gave me a new lease on life,” he said, extending a special thanks to Dr. Mary Huang and Nurse Practitioner Samantha Vincent. “I love running for a cause that did so much for me.”

Tejeda also spoke about his graduate work in exercise physiology with a concentration in cancer research.

“My thesis is a feasibility study that explores how we can use various exercise interventions and fitness tests to measure the presence and progression of disease and treatment-related symptoms,” he said.

Tejeda is also involved with the university’s Exercise Oncology Research Lab, which partners with surrounding schools and UNC hospitals including the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“Our mission is to improve health outcomes and quality of life in cancer patients across all stages of their treatment,” he said.

Anyone who would like to donate to Tejeda can do so online at https://www.givengain.com/project/nathanael-raising-funds-for-massachusetts-general-hospital-86534.