LIU Brooklyn Goalkeeper Overcame Childhood Cancer, Climbed To The Top Of The Game

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Nationwide there are about 10,000 children fighting cancer.

When a parent hears that diagnosis for their child, they imagine the worst, but one survivor has overcome that challenge and risen to the top of his sport.

Everyone who fights cancer dreams of beating it. Sometimes they beat the disease, and sometimes they crush it.

Logan Keys is one of the best goalkeepers in the NCAA. His 87 percent save percentage at LIU Brooklyn ranks 5th in the NCAA, but as CBS2's Steve Overmyer reported, he's also a survivor.

"It was a unique experience and I never looked back and say I wish I didn't have it," Keys said.

At the age of 6 he was diagnosed with Leukemia. Over the next three years he was given an aggressive program of chemotherapy. He lost his hair, and his days were filled with spinal taps and bone marrow biopsies.

"It was rigorous. A bone marrow biopsy right when I got it. I mean, it was ten halls down and she could hear me screaming," Keys said, "Whenever you go through a hardship find a steady. Find something that you can lean on, and for me that was sports.

Sports were an outlet, and soccer was his passion. In some ways it saved him.

"I'm a believer that anything you go through in early life depicts what you're going to be later in life. And for me, early in life having that handicap gave me a burning fire saying, 'I'm going to do this,'" he said.

Last week, Keys led LIU Brooklyn to a conference title, and was named tournament MVP. He lives as an example to those who face the challenges of cancer.

"It's shaped me to be a big believer in helping others. I think the greatest thing in life is to find an aspiration that's bigger than just yourself. And to have that little flash of your life being questioned, and it makes you realize that the world is bigger than just you," he said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, in 1975 the survival rate for a child with cancer was 10 percent. Now, with medical advancements the survival rate is nearly 90 percent.