'Your life matters': 13-year-old Texas teen who beat cancer twice, has a message for us all

Annabelle Grace Bartel, also known as "AG," is all about remaining active. 

The 13-year-old is a volleyball manager, a basketball manager and a volunteer, but perhaps her greatest feat is the fact that she has beaten cancer twice.

“It's definitely the hardest thing that I've ever been through,” she told Paste BN Wednesday evening.

The 8th-grader lives in Colleyville, Texas, about 22 miles northeast of Fort Worth and was first diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer, in December of 2019. A softball player at the time, she told her parents she was experiencing muscle weakness in her left arm.

She had to undergo surgery on her left arm. Doctors removed a cancerous humerus and replaced it with a donor bone, her mother, Leslie Bartel shared.

“Her left arm is actually the size of a nine-year-old because it doesn't grow,” her mother said. “It's a dead bone … If you look at her arms, one is a lot shorter than the other one and she has limited use of that arm, so she can only lift her arm about eye-level.”

After the surgery, her cancer was in remission for three years. Doctors scanned her regularly to make sure she was cancer-free and then in August of 2023, doctors noticed a spot on her lungs.

She had surgery on Sept. 11 to treat it.

“They did get clear margins, so she is cancer-free again for the second time,” her mother shared. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic, came isolation

AG said when she was first diagnosed with cancer, it felt like a learning stage. The second time around, it was a little easier to hear the news.

One of the hardest parts of her journey was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Strict regulations prevented friends and family from visiting her at the hospital like they normally could and only one of her parents could visit her at a time.

“FaceTime became my best friend,” AG shared.

When she was hospitalized, her mom would help her decorate her hospital rooms, celebrating holidays like the Fourth of July and Christmas. They also tried out themes such as makeup, unicorns, rainbows and pajamas.

“One week, we did a cooking theme and we actually learned to make cookies in the microwave,” her mom shared.

And throughout all of this, AG has had to juggle school work. Her most recent bout with cancer forced her to really apply herself because she was out of school for quite a while.

“Being in all AP classes, it's really hard to catch up,” she shared.

Her mother said she’s all caught up now though and has straight As.

“She's just kind of back to full speed, even seven weeks post-surgery,” her mom said. “She’s living every minute of life she can.”

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Teenager has undergone clinical trials since treatment options are scarce

AG has osteosarcoma, one of the rarest, oldest types of childhood cancer. If patients relapse, it’s usually detected in the lungs and there haven’t been many advancements in treatment, said AG’s mother.

“There are no standard options for kids that relapse for osteosarcoma that have been proven to work,” her mother shared. 

This led her family to sign her up for clinical trials, including immunotherapy called Mepact, which is used in some European countries and boosts the immune system to kill cancer cells.

“It's an immunotherapy given over the course of 48 weeks,” her mother said. “Through the Compassionate Use Act, we were able to get that for her.”

She’s currently participating in a clinical trial where she gets an infusion every three weeks. If she stays cancer-free, she’ll continue for 48 weeks, her mother said.

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AG has inspired her parents to do better, they say

AG’s father, Eric Bartel, said her journey has inspired him to appreciate every moment and to be more patient with his children.

“We're a lot more tender-hearted and compassionate towards others, a lot more forgiving,” he shared, adding that he hates cancer and what it does to people.

“She's 13 years old and she has literally walked through hell twice now,” he said about AG. “It's very hard as a dad to see. If I could take it from her and put it in my lungs and take it from her, I would do it in a nanosecond.”

AG is doing well these days though. She’s involved in cheer, theater and is a coach’s assistant for volleyball, track, basketball, field and soccer. She’s also on the tennis team.

She wants to encourage people to keep going.

“When you're on treatment, you have to keep living and keep fighting,” AG said. “Always live life to the fullest each day because you never know when it's going to be your last. You’re loved. Your life matters.”

To keep up with AG, check social media for the hashtag #AGtough or visit www.linktr.ee/agtough.