In October 2018, Justin Marcario was doing what he had done his entire life — playing baseball.

A standout athlete from Allentown, New Jersey, Justin had spent years on the field, competing at a high level and pushing himself to excel. But during a tournament one weekend, something felt wrong.

“I remember being in the dugout laying down because I couldn’t even sit up straight,” Justin recalled. “I thought I had the flu or something.”

Within days, bloodwork revealed something far more serious. At just 16 years old, Justin was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).

“One day I was playing baseball and feeling like a normal kid,” he said. “The next day, I was in a hospital bed not knowing what was going to happen.”

Justin’s Reaction to His Leukemia Diagnosis

For Justin’s parents, the fear was immediate. But Justin remembers focusing on something entirely different.

“I was worried about baseball,” he said with a laugh. “I was asking if I was going to miss the season.”

That mindset of staying positive would carry him through the fight of his life.

Justin received treatment at both Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center, spending countless days in hospitals and treatment rooms over the next several years. Through it all, he built close relationships with the doctors, nurses and staff who became part of his extended family.

“They always told me there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Justin said. “I heard that phrase throughout my whole treatment, and it stuck with me.”

Fighting Through the Worst of Leukemia Treatment

That light became harder to see during some of the toughest moments of treatment. While chemotherapy treatments were necessary to fight the disease, they led to Justin developing severe neuropathy in his legs.

“There was a point where my legs were so weak, they just weren’t working,” he said. At one point, Justin couldn’t feel his legs from the knees down, and the baseball star was temporarily confined to a wheelchair. 

“For someone who had always been active and playing sports, that was hard.”

But Justin refused to let cancer define him.

Positive Impact from Tackle Kids Cancer

Supported by his family, friends and organizations like Tackle Kids Cancer, Justin found ways to stay hopeful. During treatment, he received visits, entertainment and experiences that helped him feel like a normal teenager again, including a memorable trip to a Giants game while he was still in a wheelchair.

“We got to go on the field before the game,” he recalled. “That was a really cool moment.”

After rigorous treatment, he returned to the game he loved — and didn’t miss a beat. In Justin’s senior season, his first since being diagnosed and treated for leukemia, he was named player of the year for the Colonial Valley Conference. Justin continued his baseball career at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), where he played four seasons and continued to succeed; he claimed all-region honors as a junior and ended his career with the ninth-most hits (209) in school history. 

“Getting back on the field was probably my proudest moment,” he said. “It showed how much work I had put in.”

Cancer-Free and Completing Police Academy

Today, Justin is five years cancer-free and celebrating another major milestone: graduating from Ocean County Police Academy this past May.

“The police academy was hard mentally and physically, but after going through cancer, I felt like nothing would ever be harder than that,” he said. “It taught me resilience.”

Now 23, Justin hopes to begin his law enforcement career in Ocean County while continuing to live with the same perspective that carried him through leukemia treatments.

“You never know what can happen in life,” he said. “Just stay positive, keep your family close, and remember there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”

For survivors like Justin, Hackensack Meridian Health and the support from Tackle Kids Cancer helped make possible a future that once felt uncertain.

To learn more about how to help patients like Justin and support Tackle Kids Cancer, visit TackleKidsCancer.org.