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Bags bearing messages of hope and well wishes line the St. Ephrem gymnasium floor Friday, spelling out the word \u201cHOPE\u201d in honor of the families the Night of Hope was dedicated to supporting. (Photos: Alexandra Moyen)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\tBags bearing messages of hope and well wishes line the St. Ephrem gymnasium floor Friday, spelling out the word \u201cHOPE\u201d in honor of the families the Night of Hope was dedicated to supporting. (Photos: Alexandra Moyen)<\/p>\n
DYKER HEIGHTS \u2014\u00a0Edward McCarthy was 14 when he noticed something was wrong. He started to experience headaches and eventually an entire \u201cpersonality change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, one day, while at the movies, he recalled that his vision blurred like water trapped behind goggles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to read the menu at the movie\u00a0theater,\u00a0and I can\u2019t see it,\u00a0it\u2019s so\u00a0blurry,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIt\u2019s like you have a cataract.\u00a0Like\u00a0there\u2019s a film over my eye.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within days, he\u00a0was\u00a0rushed to\u00a0the\u00a0hospital,\u00a0where an MRI revealed\u00a0Anaplastic ependymoma, a Stage 3 brain cancer<\/a> so rare that doctors who had practiced for decades sought him out because they had only read about it in textbooks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Surgery came the next day,\u00a0on\u00a0his mother\u2019s birthday.\u00a0Radiation followed\u00a0through the start of high school, and he\u00a0barely attended class for three months.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now,\u00a0the 26-year-old\u00a0McCarthy\u00a0is five years cancer-free and a math and religion teacher\u00a0for\u00a0fourth and fifth graders at St. Ephrem Catholic Academy<\/a> in Dyker Heights.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On May 15,\u00a0the school\u00a0hosted its \u201cNight of Hope,\u201d\u00a0a community fundraiser<\/a> honoring\u00a0McCarthy\u00a0and other\u00a0families touched by cancer. <\/p>\n The evening\u2019s message: \u201cNo Family Fights Alone.\u201d\u00a0The event featured a student talent show, a live DJ, raffles, and interactive crafts, with all proceeds going directly to affected families.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED: St. John\u2019s University Students Raise Money for Pediatric Cancer Charity<\/a><\/p>\n Principal\u00a0Michael Phillips\u00a0said\u00a0McCarthy\u2019s story\u00a0has\u00a0left a mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to know that he has been able to overcome that struggle,\u00a0become something he was passionate about,\u00a0which is being a teacher,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cNow he is in that role where he is leading young minds every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n McCarthy\u2019s road\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0easy\u00a0\u2014 at one point during his\u00a0recovery,\u00a0he received Anointing of the Sick.\u00a0His radiation\u00a0treatment\u00a0required a custom face mask strapping him to a\u00a0table,\u00a0so the beam hit only the\u00a0tumor\u00a0site. He developed claustrophobia\u00a0that\u00a0never left. A burn mark\u00a0remains\u00a0on his forehead. Where the tumor once sat, there is now a cavity that will never fill back in.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like deforestation of the brain,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIt can\u2019t\u00a0regrow. It just is what it is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Through it all, he said he has leaned on his faith.\u00a0On his left shoulder sits a tattoo:\u00a0a\u00a0silver-and-gray ribbon\u00a0\u2014 the official awareness ribbon for brain cancer and brain tumors \u2014\u00a0with a cross\u00a0embedded in it.\u00a0<\/p>\n One\u00a0especially meaningful moment for McCarthy\u00a0came in September 2015, when Pope Francis landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport and made his way to Mass at Madison Square Garden.\u00a0McCarthy\u00a0was able to greet the late pope, who\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know\u00a0him or his story.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe shook my hand and touched exactly where I was radiated and sick,\u201d McCarthy\u00a0recalled.\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t tell him. Zero.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt that point, you got\u00a0to\u00a0believe. There\u2019s no reason for someone like that to do something without any intention.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260516_000457368_iOS.jpg\")
Edward McCarthy shares his journey through a rare Stage 3 brain cancer diagnosis at 14 \u2014 and the faith that carried him through it with the St. Ephrem community.<\/p>\n