An Eye Toward the Future : Cancer has robbed Antelope Valley standout Charles Pierce of his senior season, but he’s determined to beat the disease and return to the playing field.

WESTWOOD —  From his hospital bed, some 80 miles from the football practice field where he would much rather be, Charles Pierce has a vision.

He sees himself playing football again.

Pierce, an All-Golden League linebacker from Antelope Valley High, is fortunate he can see at all.

Three months ago he learned he has cancer near his right eye, an affliction that nearly left him permanently blind.

“At first I thought I was going to die,” Pierce says.

Weak, drowsy and barely able to speak above a whisper as he rests after radiation treatments and double doses of chemotherapy daily, Pierce, 17, is fighting the disease with the same confidence he displayed as a leader on the Antelope Valley football team.

“In a couple of months I’ll be back to normal,” he promises.

Pierce is bundled up behind a curtain in a small, dimly lit area on the eighth floor of the UCLA Medical Center, his home away from home since May. He is exhausted and nauseated, but doctors say his recovery has been steady and the prognosis is good.

His vision, which had deteriorated to 20-300, is back to normal and the tumor is breaking up, but doctors won’t know whether the cancer is gone until later this fall, after the last of Pierce’s scheduled chemotherapy treatments.

‘[Chemotherapy] doesn’t feel good but it’s something that I have to do,” Pierce says. “I’ve been kind of upset that I can’t play. I just keep thinking about playing [in junior college] next year. That gets me through it.”

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As a sophomore, Pierce was a starter at linebacker for Antelope Valley’s 1994 Southern Section championship team. In what was to have been his senior season, he was expected to anchor the defense and play fullback in the Antelopes’ run-oriented offense.

Pierce asserted himself as a team leader during spring workouts, but he was at full strength for only two days.

On the third day of drills Pierce saw his doctor, complaining of blurred vision, numbness on the right side of his face and a constant headache.

He was treated for a sinus infection, but the medication and painkillers didn’t help. The headaches were so bad Pierce couldn’t sleep.

Next he was examined by an ear, nose and throat specialist. Nothing out of the ordinary was found.

Finally, Bettie Pierce persuaded a doctor in the Antelope Valley Hospital emergency ward to perform a CAT scan. That and a subsequent biopsy led to the discovery of a malignant tumor attached to the optic nerve of Pierce’s right eye.

The cancer is called Rhabdomyosarcomac, which is commonly found in the soft muscle tissue of children.

Two of Pierce’s grandparents have been stricken with cancer, but survived the cancer. American Cancer Society research indicates the odds for recovery are on a dramatic upswing. In 1970, the rate of cure for this type of cancer was 25%. By 1991, it was 70%.

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Pierce has been spending two-week intervals at UCLA since Memorial Day weekend. Between cycles, he returns home to recuperate until his white-blood count climbs back to normal.

At home, without the daily barrage of treatments that weaken him, Pierce does pushups and situps in an effort to maintain his physique and strength.

Pierce is still close to his 185-pound playing weight. The only visible sign of his illness is his thinning hair, a result of the chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Although occasionally listless, Pierce, when home, manages to maintain an active social life. He has even been grounded by his mother for missing curfew.

“He’s doing pretty well,” said Dr. Brandon Koretz, an internist at UCLA. “I would think that his attitude and a supportive family will help him in the long run.”

Pierce’s mother is routinely by his side, living with him at the hospital, tending to his needs and offering moral support after taking a leave of absence from her job.

A devout Christian, Betty Pierce credits God for reversing what doctors told her was a rapidly spreading tumor.

“Faith is everything,” she says. “His vision coming back was 100% divine intervention. We have a network of family and friends all over the country praying. We give God the glory.”

The ordeal has caused Pierce to ponder his mortality. Before his illness he had lost some of his discipline, letting his grades slip and running with a somewhat rebellious crowd.

Now his perspective has changed, and, his mother says, he will take home-study courses in order to graduate in June.

“I appreciate life and I talk to God a lot more than I used to,” Pierce says. “I guess I know more about life--how short it is. . . .

“I think things out a little more.”

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This was supposed to be a breakout year for Pierce on the football field, where he expected to lead the Antelopes to a third consecutive appearance in a Southern Section championship game.

Pierce is confident his teammates will successfully carry on without him, but Coach Brent Newcombe isn’t quite as optimistic.

“It was a shocker to us and a big loss,” Newcomb says of Pierce’s illness. “This would have been a banner year for him. He would have opened a lot of people’s eyes.”

Pierce’s fiery leadership already is being missed.

“We’re lacking a little bit of heart and determination out there,” linebacker Ken Thomas said.

Tony Walker, the team’s star receiver and defensive back, is still trying to adjust to Pierce’s absence.

“I don’t know how we’ll put it behind us because Charlie’s always been there,” Walker said. “I feel very sad for him. I pray for him all the time.”

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Pierce dreams of playing football for the University of Tennessee. His late grandfather, Willie, was a minister in Memphis and many of Pierce’s relatives live in the state.

But his second choice is UCLA, and his eyes light up when the conversation turns to former Antelope Valley teammate Jermaine Lewis, a top freshman recruit for the Bruins.

Three blocks from Pierce’s hospital room, a UCLA football session has just ended on a hot day. Lewis, who has been busy practicing and settling in his new surroundings, wasn’t aware that Pierce could be visited at the hospital.

“Charlie’s that close?” Lewis said. “I’m going to try to get over there.”

Lewis smiles when he is told that Pierce plans to watch UCLA’s televised opener at Tennessee on Sept. 7. Then his shoulders slump.

“What? He’s a Tennessee fan?” Lewis blurts. “I was going to bring him some UCLA stuff.”

Good thoughts and best wishes would probably suffice.