Nolan Zikas Golfs Through Struggle Against Cancer

Photo courtesy of Concordia Athletic Department.

by Matthew Goedeken

Nolan Zikas is a sophomore golfer at Concordia, but opposing golfers are not the only adversity he has been fighting against.

Zikas was diagnosed with cancer his freshman year of high school after it was found in his right femur. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer. When osteosarcoma spreads, it usually goes to the lungs. Due to this, Zikas still goes in and gets his lungs scanned every four or five months to make sure the cancer is not active in his body.

“I don’t really even know if there (were) words that came to my mind,” Zikas said about his thoughts when he was diagnosed. “A lot of it was just tears honestly.”

Zikas struggled with his first bout with cancer for about a year. The cancer had been growing for five months prior to his diagnosis. Then, four months after his diagnosis, Zikas needed surgery on his leg.

The pain eventually got to the point where he needed crutches to walk. Zikas even questioned whether he would be able to play golf again. However, he eventually entered remission.

“After I was told that I went into remission, I was super excited because I thought I could be a normal kid again and finally get to enjoy my life,” Zikas said.

Screenings of Zikas’s lungs have since shown spots on five separate occasions, and Zikas has fought cancer four or five times. This past summer was the last time that Zikas had surgery, when he had a nodule removed from his left lung.

Through this process, Zikas is making sure that his eyes stay focused on what is important.

“It’s easy when you get put in tough situations to forget about God,” Zikas said. “He’s definitely there, and He does some miracles. God and my family; that’s what got me to this point.”

Besides family, some of Zikas’s biggest support comes from his teammates here at Concordia. To him, the small team feels like family.

“Everyone is so close. There (are) only 12 guys and seven girls, and we are all one family. I can’t thank them enough for what they have done for me,” Zikas said. “Two times ago when I had found out I had spots on my lungs, I am pretty sure everyone on the team communicated with me saying they were there for me, and they’ll be praying for me. They are definitely some of my closest friends here, and they will always be a part of my life.”

Zikas’s last appointment went well, with no evidence of spots on his lungs. Zikas closed out the fall golf season at the Nebraska Intercollegiate with two rounds of 78.