High school students Vivian Eagle and Cade Thompson look like any other teen in their prom photos — smiling and laughing at the camera.
But the happy occasion almost didn’t take place while both brave teens battled bone cancer.
Eagle and Thompson, from Indianapolis, said they’ll be “friends forever” over their unique shared experience, as both of them were diagnosed with osteosarcoma in nearly the exact same place in their legs.
Thompson, 18, was diagnosed in 2020 while Eagle, 17, received her diagnosis last year. The pair met through Eagles’ mother, Katrina, who teaches at Thompson’s school, and connected them after her daughter’s diagnosis.
While enrolled at separate schools, the teens bonded over their harrowing health journeys together — culminating in an unforgettable prom night
“[Prom] was really magical and it just made me happy,” Thompson told NBC News. “I knew immediately when we had the opportunity to meet the Eagle family that that was our why.”
Eagle agreed, saying meeting Thompson gave her hope when she was in the depths of her illness.
“I just can’t thank them enough,” the volleyball player added
The pair had an instant bond after they met, with Thompson fondly saying he felt like his family grew when he met Eagle’s family. “We had a connection that words can’t explain because of what we went through,” he said.
Eagle was diagnosed in January 2022, after she began to experience a lot of pain from a bump in her left leg, leaving her barely able to walk. Doctors later found a five-in-long tumor.
“My heart dropped,” the teen recalled to IndyStar. “I was like, ‘What? Cancer? And what about volleyball?’ I had just gotten to play in my first tournament and then I got the diagnosis.”
Thompson had been diagnosed around 18 months before, in July 2020, after struggling to run at football practice. What he thought was a bum knee turned out to be a tumor in his left leg.
Neither will be able to continue their sporting careers, NBC News reported,, but are grateful they’ve had a second shot at life. Eagle’s chemo treatment ended in October 2022, while Thompson celebrated two years of being in remission this past April.
The pair gushed about their friendship, and how grateful they were to have someone to talk to who has experienced the same disease — especially during low moments.
“[Thompson] was always there when nobody else was. There was a time, especially after surgery, I was at my lowest point. He knew why,” Eagle said elsewhere in the interview.
“There’s not a lot of people in the world anymore that are just always there,” she continued. “Through thick and thin, and Cade you were there for me.”
Although Thompson is reportedly planning to move to New York after he graduates, the pair have said they will remain “friends forever” — and now have their prom photos and memories to celebrate their bond.
According to the American Cancer Association, osteosarcoma is the most common type of cancer that starts in the bones. In children, teens, and young adults, osteosarcoma usually starts in areas where the bone is growing quickly, such as near the ends of the leg or arm bones.