Rare cancer diagnosis didn’t stop Pitt student from graduating early

Sarah Pine’s college experience at the University of Pittsburgh was typical, until it wasn’t.

From Savannah, Ga., Pine came to Oakland in fall 2022 to pursue writing, seeking a different atmosphere than the south.

“I went in with all these positive thoughts and ideas, ready to conquer the college experience,” Pine said.

But it was in her second semester of her freshman year that things started to take a turn for the worse.

Pine, now 21 and living in Shadyside, recalled feeling unwell and itchy during that time.

“That was all very confusing, especially as an 18-year-old away from home for the first time,” she said.

During finals week of her freshman year, an ultrasound showed a mass in her liver.

“I was told that it could be cancer, or it could be benign,” she said.

It was cancer.

Pine was diagnosed with Fibrolamella Hepatocellular Carcinoma, a rare cancer of the liver that typically affects teenagers and adults under the age of 40.

According to the National Cancer Institute, FLC is different from other liver cancers because it happens in people with healthy livers. FLC is thought to make up 1% to 5% of all liver cancers.

“It was difficult,” Pine said. “I was struggling with fatigue and different side effects, but school was important to me.”

Through chemotherapy and other treatments, Pine continued to stay enrolled at Pitt — but it was not easy. She wore an abdominal binder to help post-surgery. Low blood pressure made it difficult to walk. Being more than 600 miles from home was also a challenge, but looking back, Pine said she gained a new sense of confidence and independence dealing with issues alone.

In July 2024, during Pine’s junior year, a scan revealed a new tumor growth in her liver.

She did radiation treatment and, at first, was given an option of a liver transplant or a liver resection. She opted for the resection surgery, where doctors remove part or all of a person’s liver with the healthy part regenerating over weeks.

But during the procedure, doctors realized her liver was unable to be properly resected, she said.

On Dec. 9, 2024, Pine received a donation offer. The next day, her liver transplant surgery was successful, she said. She started classes a month later.

“It was definitely a big challenge dealing with school and everything in tandem,” she said. “I was told I shouldn’t go back to classes a month after, but my surgeon knew I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Pine will be walking the stage at Pitt’s winter commencement Sunday with a double major in media and professional communications, and English writing.

“School has always been my favorite place to be,” she said. “I like being grounded in learning. My main concern was — can I continue school? I didn’t want to graduate late, but now I’m graduating early.”

Pine found media studies to be fruitful in working through and coping with cancer. She did research into how adolescent cancer is portrayed in film and media.

“It’s two avenues for me to explore my experiences and analyze them in different ways,” she said.

She also was editor-in-chief of Collision, Pitt’s student-run literary magazine.

“I do creative writing a lot, and I describe having cancer as similar to a body horror,” Pine said. “It just doesn’t feel real, knowing something is growing in my body that is trying to kill me.

“It was a foreign feeling, having that happen to my body.”

Post-transplant, Pine’s chance of recurrence is very low, she said.

“My prognosis is very good,” she said.

Pine’ has applied to different Ph.D. programs and hopes to teach writing at the university level, she said. She also has applied for jobs in communications, editing and writing.

“I don’t like to think of my journey as overcoming,” she said. “For me, I did what I felt I had to do. There was no other choice but to continue working with the challenges thrown at me.”