Myles McClarity now cancer free, returns to college football after a 3.5 year cancer battle

By Nick Rothschild

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    FOUNTAIN, Colorado (KMGH) — As a junior at Fountain-Fort Carson High School, Myles McClarity saw a football future ahead of him.

McClarity was a rising star being recruited by division one schools from across the country.

But after a playoff game for the Trojans, McClarity’s nose started to bleed. And it wouldn’t stop.

“For a 16-year-old to get diagnosed with cancer in the prime of their football career and see their dreams and aspirations fade away, he had some moments that were really hard,” McClarity’s mom Faith Getty said.

The nosebleed led to a much more serious diagnosis: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Most of the D1 offers dried up, but the University of Northern Colorado stuck by his side.

“It just showed me that these were actually good people,” McClarity said. “It really just cleared that part of my life. Recruitment’s a hard process, but with my diagnosis and all some schools shied away. UNC stayed, and it clearly showed me where God wanted me to be.”

His initial diagnosis was 3.5 years ago, and his journey to remission has been a lengthy one. But McClarity maintained resilience and optimism through it all.

“I’m not really an emotional guy, but I just broke down in tears,” McClarity, now 20 years old and cancer free, said.

On May 22, McClarity rang the bell at Children’s Hospital Colorado, signifying the end of his cancer treatments.

“He held that in for so long,” Getty said. “Finally just to know that it was over and he could just relieve himself from all of that pent up emotion was beautiful.”

Ringing that bell, declaring himself free from cancer, the emotional floodgates opened wide.

“Once I rang the bell it just felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” McClarity said. “All the time sick, all the time spent in the hospital just washed away. I like to think I’m pretty humble and I downplay everything I’ve been through, but once you get in that moment and you look back and see everything you’ve gone through – it’s just a wake up call to how mentally and physically strong that I could be.”

During his treatment and recovery, McClarity made quite the impression on his care team.

“No one deserves this moment more than Myles,” Adrienne Enright, McClarity’s physical therapist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said.

She watched as McClarity fought the darkness cancer causes.

“I could tell he was hurting and he was tired,” Enright said. “He would always say yes [to doing physical therapy].”

“Sometimes me fighting was just hanging on for dear life,” McClarity said. “When it’s hard, when you’re tired and you’re sick, don’t give up. It feels like there’s nowhere to go in the moment, but looking back you realize how far you’ve come even when you think you’re not moving at all.”

Through countless hours toiling to get his body back, he also found a new future.

“When he told me that he wanted to be a physical therapist I was just blown away,” Enright said. “He stands out so much to me as the best patient, so resilient, like a true hero.

He’s taken everything with such grace. I’m super honored that I could be part of his journey and now he’s going to be a physical therapist. He’s going to be an amazing one!”

“I want to be in those shoes and help out kids just like me,” McClarity said.

That may be what’s next, but his present remains on the gridiron.

“My coach was with me when I rang the bell,” McClarity said. “I hugged him and he said now it’s time to go.”

UNC’s support through his cancer journey meant a lot to McClarity, and now he’s working as hard as ever to help the Bears win football games next fall.

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