Austin cancer survivor conquers disease, mental health struggles that came with it

For Jackson Helling, growing up in Austin was filled with weekend trips to the fields and surrounded with friends who shared his passion for sports.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- For Jackson Helling, growing up in Austin was filled with weekend trips to the fields and surrounded with friends who shared his passion for sports.

“Fitness has always been a huge part of my life,” said the 29-year-old about his upbringing. “I played little league baseball, soccer with my friends, football in high school, track and ultimate frisbee.”

The passion turned into a career - Helling is a fitness entrepreneur - and is the founder of Hybrid Athletic. He helps women and men achieve their transformation goals with training focused on all aspects of athleticism.

His love for sports helped shape his future but dark challenging times also played a big role - including suicidal thoughts.

“At the darkest point, the depth of those three years, you know, it's so weird to me to say,” he said slowly while reflecting on his health journey. “I didn't know if I wanted to be alive. I had suicidal thoughts, which is hard to even speak of right now. But that's where I was.”

A family trip to Wisconsin turned his life upside down.

“When we're up there usually we go wakeboarding. I’m pretty decent at it, my athletic experience carries over a little bit. But I fell that day,  it was a pretty hard slap”

Helling was 19 years old when his front body furiously went crashing down on the lake. The impact on his neck and throat lingered for days. The athlete then noticed a spot on his neck and after several tests, doctors came up with the answer he didn’t expect. The young man was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer and lymphoma.

“I had everything that I wanted at the time, and when cancer hit, all that kind of fell apart at the same time,” said Helling.

The Mayo Clinic describes the disease as a growth of cells that starts in the thyroid. The thyroid is at the base of the neck and produces hormones that regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight. 

Surgeons were able to take most of the cancer out and radiation treatment helped with the rest. The surgery left a long scar on Helling’s neck.

“I used to tell people that a shark attacked me,” he said jokingly. “But I show it off with pride now.”

While the surgery and treatment took care of the cancer - Helling said this is when a moment of light in life, after having the cancer taken out, turned dark.

“The mental part of cancer is hard for anybody. I questioned if I was going to be here in a couple of years. What is life going to look like?”

The removal of his thyroid meant Helling now has to take daily pills to replace hormones the thyroid used to make. This made him feel different and doctors told him this would be his new normal.

“I started feeling terrible and anxious. I noticed I was being weird in social situations or reacting differently, but I couldn't understand why or how to control it,” he said explaining his trouble grasping what was going on.  “I kind of kept it to myself at first because I was like, not used to this being a part of my life.”

After experiments with different dosages, Helling and his doctors came up with a new plan, and today navigating those emotions are getting better. The athlete says he’s developed the tools to help with emotional intelligence. Fitness also played a big role.

“When everything felt like I was falling apart fitness is something I could grab onto and feel like I was building myself up and building myself back to where I wanted to be,” said Helling, founder of Hybrid Athletic.

Talking about his cancer journey and the mental struggles is getting easier.

“The points where I felt the most relief when I was in that dark point, is being able to talk to somebody that could relate,” he said. “Even coming from an introverted person, community is one of the most important things ever.”

As of 2022, eight years after his trip to Wisconsin, Helling's cancer went into remission - he is cancer-free. The fitness trainer uses his story to inspire others, like his clients, who may feel vulnerable taking the first step into the unknown.

“If you keep showing up, and you have that faith that you are going to get better, if you keep doing the work - you will get better,” said the cancer survivor.