Greater Nashua

NASHUA - In 2019, Nathanael Tejeda of Nashua went to the doctor for what he thought were swollen lymph nodes; however, it turned out to be something far more serious: Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. At the time of his diagnosis, Tejeda was 17 years old and a senior at Nashua High School South. Affectionately known as Smiley, he was on the wrestling, football and baseball teams and was a three-letter athlete. “As a senior in high school there was lots of uncertainty and fear after being diagnosed with cancer,” he said, adding that he was admitted to the Pediatric Oncology Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital and underwent eight months of radiation and chemotherapy. “I was treated with the best care. They made a very terrible set of circumstances feel like a walk in the park. A walk that no kid should ever have to endure.” For the 2019 Boston Marathon, Tejeda was partnered ...