Philadelphia principal battling cancer gets surprise homecoming celebration at school
By Christie Ileto
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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — It was a special homecoming for a Philadelphia school principal.
Leslie Mason has been battling both leukemia and breast cancer, and on her first day reporting back to work at Thomas Mifflin, she got a surprise she’ll never forget.
“It was just really nice to be back and see them,” said Mason.
Mason walked down the school’s hallway to a cheerful applause from students and staff.
Students made a banner, held signs and many of them dressed in pink to show their support.
Mason has been battling her second bout of breast cancer for the last eight weeks.
She was also diagnosed with leukemia in 2013 and has been fighting that off and on for the last decade.
It’s a living example of what it means to be a fighter.
“This sweatshirt, it says ‘the comeback is always stronger than the setback,’ and it’s true. You can’t get stuck in the moment,” she said. “That’s what I work towards, that’s why I’m here. And I would tell anyone in the same position that no one fights alone.”
That’s the example she’s hoping to show her students.
She says she wouldn’t be here without the Mifflin school community.
For now, she’ll be doing chemotherapy on Wednesdays for the rest of the school year, but plans to be at the school every other day.
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