Josh Cohen "Always. Look. Ahead."

Interview Date: November 26, 2025

Josh Cohen was fifteen years old and standing on the edge of everything. Sophomore year of high school. The year life starts to get interesting. Baseball with his friends, summer stretching out ahead of him, the whole world opening up.

Then came the Fourth of July, 2016. Josh was out playing ball with his buddies when one of them stopped mid-game. "Hey man, what's up with your face? It looks kinda… off." Josh brought his hand to his cheek. It was swollen. He put his fingers inside his mouth and found a lump on the right side. A month earlier, a photo had shown nothing unusual. Now, something was clearly wrong.

A visit to his pediatrician, followed by x-rays and tests, confirmed what no fifteen-year-old expects to hear: cancer. By July 20th, Josh had a diagnosis of Ewing's Sarcoma in his right cheekbone.

What happened next is the kind of moment you don't forget. Josh ran out to the pitcher's mound, dropped to his knees, and shouted, "WHY ME?" Silence. Then a thought landed: "Why not me? Am I any better than anyone else?" That was the turning point. Right there on the mound, Josh made his decision. Cancer was not going to be the end of his story. He was strong enough. He looked up and yelled, "Bring it on! Give me what you got!" This time, the anger was gone. In its place was something harder to shake: resolve.

By August 1st, he was in chemo. His sisters organized a fundraiser. His mom, stepdad, friends, and community pulled together like a team. Josh felt the wave of support, but he had one rule: no pity. He didn't want cancer to turn him into a cause. He wanted people to treat him the same as before. Even as he lost his hair, gained weight from the medication, and battled constant fatigue, he insisted on being Josh. Not "Josh with cancer." Just Josh.

From the start, his mindset was clear. He wasn't going to die. He was going to be a baseball player. You can't reach your goals if you give up or refuse to do hard things. So Josh trained his attitude the way he trained his body: with patience, determination, and persistence. Some days he had to push harder than everyone around him because the treatments left him wiped out. But he refused to make excuses. That discipline carried him through the hardest stretches.

Treatment was originally expected to take six or seven months. It stretched to eleven because his body couldn't recover as quickly as hoped. Through it all, his family, teammates, other families at Hackensack Hospital, the doctors, nurses, staff, and fellow patients kept him lifted up. His dog Kodi was a lifeline. "I don't know what I would've done without my dog," Josh says.

His tip for getting through treatment is simple and a little unconventional: "Sleep. Do everything you can beforehand. Eat, be with friends and family, all of that. But when you go to the hospital, don't have any visitors. Just sleep. Do the best you can to get through it and get out."

When Josh finished high school, his dream came true. He played pitcher for UConn, and baseball paid for his education. For his Make-a-Wish, he chose to pitch in front of MLB scouts. He was invited to throw at a Port St. Lucie game against the Mets, hitting the mid-to-high 80s. The scouts were impressed. It was the kind of moment he had fought to reach.

Today, Josh lives in New York and has spent the past two and a half years building his own practice as a Financial Advisor. He credits baseball with teaching him the discipline that carried over into every other area of his life, and he'll tell you that battling Ewing's Sarcoma gave him plenty of practice with that, too. Facing cancer head-on with grit and a positive attitude became a habit he never broke.

When asked what brings him the most joy now, Josh doesn't hesitate: his health. "A sick man has one problem," he says. "A healthy man has ninety-nine. But who would trade, right?" He watches his diet, takes care of his body, and doesn't take a single good day for granted.

When asked what advice he would give to someone newly diagnosed:

"Always. Look. Ahead. It will be tough, maybe the hardest thing you'll ever go through, but always look ahead. Be with friends and family, those who will lift you up when times are tough. Make goals, then plan to make them happen. Think positive thoughts. It may sound corny, but your mindset matters. Our minds control our bodies, so stay uplifted. Stay positive."

With an attitude like that, Josh Cohen was never going to lose. He beat cancer with his own strength, a team of supporters who surrounded him with positive energy, the best that medicine can offer, and a mindset that kept him focused on the future he was determined to see.

About the Featured CL7 Writer

Wendy Roberts is a retired nurse with over 40 years of healthcare experience and a lifelong love of writing. Through freelance medical writing, she continues to make a difference, using her knowledge and compassion to help people navigate healthcare challenges with clarity and hope.