LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Aaron Delgado was born in New York and later moved with his family to Prosper, Texas. When it was time for him to head off to college, Aaron admits it was a difficult transition.
“I’m very close with my family and it was my first time not being with them constantly and not having that support system I was used to and getting through like my daily problems,” Aaron said.
Aaron soon found his footing at Texas Tech, joining the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and taking part in fraternity events. After coming down with mononucleosis that September, things changed for Aaron, as a lump soon formed on his neck as a result.
He initially put it off, not having felt any negative side effects, but as things progressed, he knew something was wrong.
“At that point, the mass in my neck had grown to I think it was 10 centimeters long by 6 centimeters wide and it was just completely bulging out,” Aaron revealed.
In July 2024, Aaron was given the news that he had been diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“One second I was my normal college self that had all the freedom in the world and felt like he could do whatever he wanted,” Aaron said, “and then after that diagnosis, my whole life turned into that one problem, that one health issue.”
What followed was 12 initial rounds of chemotherapy and months of physical pain. Aaron described this as the most difficult time in his life, having to push through something such a massive obstacle.
The cancer would go away in December but reappear the following month, meaning four more months of treatment. That brought another troubling time for Aaron, but posting TikTok’s about his experience helped him have a better understanding of how he was feeling and how others could benefit from hearing his story.
“The situation was kind of bigger than me and it was an opportunity to help other people who could be in potentially confusing situations like me trying to figure out what kind of cancer they have or what kind of health issues are going on,” Aaron said.
After overcoming so much, Aaron has been cancer free since April 2025 and is determined to focus on things that make him happy such as basketball.
“It’s a lot of recovery and there’s a lot of times where you feel just too sore to get outside,” Aaron said, “so just pushing yourself to do that and getting through that can really make a difference in how you feel during and after treatment.”
Aaron is now a junior at Texas Tech, and says while he struggles sometimes with chemo side effects like brain fog, he’s now starting to feel a sense of normalcy. He feels like a big part of his story was having the right support system to help him through the lowest of lows, and that is helping push him towards future success.
“Being able to realize that and take advantage of it in a time of crisis and despair, it really allowed me to thrive and get out of the situation with a positive mindset,” Aaron said. “I feel like every other person should reflect on what are the great things in your life and what can you use to get through the hard times in your life.”
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