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CHAPEL HILL – Three in a million. That's the chances of being diagnosed with a cancer called Ewing Sarcoma. It's one of many rare diseases that doctors deal with at the North Carolina Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill.

Graham Henry, who has Ewing Sarcoma, is in the midst of another week of chemotherapy, a cycle that could last up to a year. “So I'm here for a week, then I go home for a week, then I'm here for a week, until they haven't really given me a due date," said Henry, 17.

But one trip to the hospital's helipad always helps Henry gain some strength. The teen is an aspiring pilot and has a palpable love for planes. “I was born with it,” he said. “As early as I can remember, I can remember having toy planes and I would set up the runway.”

He now uses that passion as motivation to battle the aggressive cancer that doctors discovered almost by accident. Henry felt the first sign of pain while pushing carts during his shift at the grocery store. His doctor says that incident may have just saved his life.

“In a funny way, I think graham is very lucky,” said Dr. Stuart Gold. “He had an accident while working and started having some chest and shoulder pain that required him to get a chest X-ray. Probably totally incidentally this mast was found in his chest, so it was actually found quite early which should help very much with his prognosis and his treatment.”

Henry says he believes the cancer happened for a reason. and is now using it as an opportunity to tap into his passion for flying and for life. “I think that this is part of something else that's going to happen later in my life and I'm going to look back at this as a defining moment in my life,” he said.

Join News 14 Carolina Thursday, Nov. 18 for the Children's Promise Celebration benefiting the North Carolina Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill.