If there’s one thing Brock student Milan Doczy knows, it’s how to be resilient.

Last month, the business economics student celebrated the end of his Interferon cancer treatment. Doczy was diagnosed in 2014 with melanoma skin cancer after discovering a mole on his foot he hadn’t noticed before.

Doctors recommended the drug Interferon alfa-2b as a treatment. Taking Interferon is no small feat. With a long list of severe side effects and a $50,000 price tag, the treatment lasted a year.

Persevering through countless medical appointments and exhausting side effects, Doczy continued with his studies and maintained an academic average over 80 per cent, sometimes going directly from the hospital to the classroom.

His fortitude didn’t go unnoticed. His oncologist told him he was the only patient who saw the entire 12 months of treatment through to the end. Many patients choose to drop out of the program part way through due to its intensity.

Doczy, an international student from Czech Republic, played for the Owen Sound Attack in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for three years before coming to Brock to play defence for the Brock Badgers men’s hockey team.

In a wave of support last year, his teammates joined forces with the Brock community to raise nearly $50,000 through the “Do it for Doczy” campaign to help him cover medical expenses not covered under health insurance before an anonymous donor came forward to cover the entire cost of the Interferon treatment.

At a surprise celebration last week, Doczy’s friends came together with some of Brock’s faculty and staff and the Badgers hockey team to congratulate him on the end of his treatment. Organized by Goodman School of Business Professor Geoff Hoover, the event brought people together from all over who helped Doczy this past year.

At the event, Doczy thanked everyone for their support and recalled what Badgers hockey coach Murray Nystrom told him when the pair first met.

“Murray told me he could promise me one thing, and that was that I would have the best four years of my life at Brock. I can tell you that honestly, they have been. He gave me an opportunity, a chance to accomplish my goal of getting a university degree and I’m really thankful for that.”

The efforts of the Badgers hockey team were recognized at the event, in particular Badgers hockey goalie Real Cormier. Cormier showed off his mane which he started to grow out when he learned of Doczy’s diagnosis, pledging to donate it to make wigs for cancer patients once his Interferon treatment ended.

“It was also tremendous to see support from the Owen Sound Attack. The team raised a significant amount of funds, and it reflects on the community of the city,” Doczy says.

Doczy also thanked his fiancé, Justine, for her strength. The couple, who met at Brock, are recently engaged.

“She always made sure I was comfortable so I could just fight. My parents are not here with me in Canada, so Justine’s support has meant a lot. Only she will ever understand the struggles I went through. She was fighting the battle with me every day,” he says.

When asked what the support of the Brock community has meant to him, Doczy explains that it has been amazing to witness.

“I want to thank everyone who has helped me, whether it was through fundraising, offering support, thinking of me, or reaching out to connect with me online. What happened after my diagnosis showed me that there are good people in the world,” he says.

“It was also so important to have someone like Geoff (Hoover) on my side. I knew I could always go to his office and he was someone I could rely on. I would like to thank him for his tremendous help – he deserves all the credit.”

Doczy, who worked at RBC this past summer in trading equities, is grateful for the return offer for this summer.

After all he has gone through this year, Doczy’s outlook remains positive and resilient.

“Just go day by day, and be really thankful for what you have,” he says.