Surviving cancer against all odds

You have to marvel at Bill Gowakci's spirit and power of positive thinking.  He's a 20-year-old college junior who, by all medical expert odds, shouldn't even be alive.

Doctors gave Bill an infinitesimal chance to beat childhood cancer that ravaged his body twice.

The first time, it was bone cancer that left his right leg scarred, and titanium bones and joints replaced the real thing.

Then after a brief remission, cancer struck again. Ironically, the chemotherapy that killed his bone cancer caused his second bout with cancer -- this time leukemia.

"They gave me pretty much less than 10 percent for six months when they diagnosed me, " Bill said during a visit at All Children's Hospital, where he was treated.

As a last resort, doctors performed a bone marrow transplant. That kind of treatment packs quite a punch to the human body, especially to a boy who was only 12 years old at the time.

"My slogan through the whole ordeal was, ‘Bring It On,' more or less. One of my doctors dubbed me ‘William The Conquerer' because of my attitude to beat my cancer. I just kept hope alive, kept my spirits up, laughed everyday," he said.

Even Bill's doctors were amazed at his internal will to fight and win.

"He understood from the get go what he needed to do to survive, and he always kept a positive attitude about all of it,"  said Nanette Grana, who was Bill's pediatric oncologist.

Bill makes frequent visits back to All Children's just to say thank you and to show kids facing the same battle that they too can fight and win.