Will and Emily Haney of Athens are just embarking on careers in public service.

Emily, 29, has been director of the Council on Aging for three years and Will, 31, is a year short of completing his nursing degree.

When they celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in April it seemed as though life offered endless possibilities. Then, Will found a lump. A biopsy proved the lump was cancerous and he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a fast-growing, highly malignant tumor, which accounts for over half of the soft tissue sarcomas in children.

Six-year-old Sydney Newton, daughter of Cynthia and Jamie Newton of Athens, is currently being treated for rhabdomyosarcoma.

So what was this seemingly robust part-time farmer and full-time student doing with a cancer that is known mostly to afflict children?

That’s just one of the mysteries left to solve as Will undergoes months of chemotherapy at the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“Will was in nursing school at Auburn University-Montgomery and he came home on weekends,” said Emily. “You wouldn’t have thought there was anything wrong. That much is on his side. He is young and strong.”

The sarcoma was first discovered in Will’s testicle, which had to be removed, and since that time, a second round of scans at M.D. Anderson has shown the cancer has spread rapidly throughout his body.

The results of a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan revealed the “hot spots,” Emily said.

“Friday, we had the ‘sit down’ with Dr. Ravi (Anderson sarcoma specialist Vinod Ravi,) to learn what he saw on the scans,” wrote Emily in an e-mail. “The truth hurt a little bit. The lymph nodes from the neck to the pelvis are all hot—meaning cancer is present. The spine, the pelvis and some ribs are also affected.

“So, we have to fight this cancer as hard as it is hitting Will—well harder. This is going to be tough. We are now in the room at M.D. Anderson, ready for the chemo to begin dripping any minute. Nervous and prayerful. I will be here through Saturday and then we will begin the rotations.”

At a time like this it’s of utmost importance to have strong family support and the couple has that. Emily is the daughter of Limestone County Circuit Court Clerk Charles Page and his wife Kathy and Will is the son of Tink and Sharon Haney. Both sets of parents will be flying to Houston to take part in the rotation with Will. Treatment could continue for as long as 10 months.

Emily said she hopes from time to time to be able to work in her office at Athens Senior Center.

Emily and Will made quick trip home on the weekend and were inundated with friends and food, she said.

“I didn’t think our little house could hold so many people,” said Emily.