Young Oakland singer receives cancer diagnosis as she released her new song ‘Go Bravely’

OAKLAND, Calif. - An Oakland native and singer-songwriter is her using music to draw hope, strength and clarity after being diagnosed with a rare cancer.

Suede Avery Sanders turned 21 on Monday. 

Her birthday came just days after doctors told her she has an alveolar soft part sarcoma, an ultra-rare malignant soft tissue tumor that most commonly affects teens and young adults.

Song release 

That diagnosis came just a day before a big event. 

On July 17, the singer released her new solo single titled "Go Bravely."

With a buttery voice, smooth, soulful, and a sound that seems older than her years, Sanders sings: "I’m not a foreigner to this feeling. I’ve been afraid to take the leap. But it don’t have to consume. If you don’t let it take room."

The song which talks about fear was written a year and a half ago, long before her cancer diagnosis.       

But the words, her words, have been reshaped, taking on new meaning for the young artist.

What they're saying:

"I was in my MRI and just like singing my song at myself, like over and over, trying to just keep my mind away from fear and take my own advice," Sanders told KTVU on Tuesday during an interview from Southern California, where she attends college. 

Sanders is about to enter her final year at the University of Southern California’s prestigious Thornton School of Music, where she is a part of the highly selective Popular Music program with an emphasis in songwriting.

OSA alum

Local perspective:

She attended both middle school and high school at Oakland School for the Arts, which has an impressive list of former students that includes world-renowned superstar Zendaya and Grammy-winning singer Kehlani.

SEE ALSO: Young rising Oakland rap artist among GRAMMY nominee contenders

Sanders wrote "Go Bravely" as part of a college course in which she was assigned to compose a song to her middle school self. 

At first, she said she struggled with the assignment, faced with some confidence challenges. 

"So I decided to flip it and kind of pull from, what do I think that my middle school self would tell me, to help tap into that confidence and childlike joy that I felt like I was missing," Avery shared.

And the result was a song about overcoming her fears, words she would have told herself as a middle schooler, words she would tell herself now. 

Using music through her journey

Timeline:

It’s been a heavy month, filled with a succession of potentially life-altering events.

"We found out about malignancy on the 15th and then what specific type of cancer it was on the 16th and then the song launched on the 17th," Sanders' mother Sarah Young told KTVU from her home in Oakland.

She shared how she watched her daughter navigate through this diagnosis using her music as a guide and a vehicle.

Young was in Los Angeles with her daughter, helping her move into her new apartment for her senior year, when the doctor called with the diagnosis.

"We were really hoping it was benign," Young recalled. She shared how overwhelming it was, noting all of this was happening in the middle of a move. After news of her test results, the mom said she had to step out briefly to retrieve some moving supplies. 

"And when I came back, she had started a new song. She was hooked into her headphones. Had her microphone out, she was getting the bits down, she had written some lyrics," the mom shared. "It's sort of amazing. She definitely is an artist, and she uses it to deal with everything that's going on." 

Cancer treatment 

What's next:

What lies ahead is what’s expected to be potentially a six to eighth month treatment process, which will include taking a relatively recently FDA-approved immunotherapy drug. 

In the fall, she is expected to undergo surgery to remove a prominent 4-inch tumor on her thigh. 

"They feel pretty confident that they can remove it and then radiate for any last remaining cells." the mom explained. "She can then get back on the immunotherapy once she's recovered from surgery and you know, hopefully just beat this thing back to non-existence."

Young also highlighted the optimism from the groundbreaking immunotherapy drug that is available to her daughter, a drug approved by the FDA in 2022 and has shown promising results. 

The first infusion is set for next week, with Sanders undergoing treatment in Southern California. 

Another positive bit of news they're highlighting is that the doctors have told them she'll be able to continue with school in the process, allowing her to graduate on time.

"Really good news," the mom said, full of optimism.

Extremely rare 

Alveolar soft part sarcoma is a type of cancer that starts in the soft tissues of the body, and in Sanders' case, it's embedded in her thigh muscle tissue.

"You know, sarcomas in general, make up 1% of all cancers," Young explained. "Then, you know, within sarcoma, she's got 1% sarcommas. So very, very rare."

The mother said that while rare, there's much reason for optimism over the fact that the cancer is one that has a treatment option. 

"We're hopeful that it's going to work. It basically allows the immune system to see that there is a cancer because it's hiding right now. And so it's going to reveal it and then her immune system should flood in and start going to town on beating it back," the mom explained. 

Singer lost her stepfather to cancer

Dig deeper:

Young also shared that her perspective and outlook have been shaped by the loss of her late husband, Sanders’ stepfather, who battled a rare cancer. 

He was given six months to live. He died in 2020, almost two decades after his prognosis.  

"He was such a fighter, you know. He got a terminal diagnosis at 30. No one wanted to operate on him, and he just kept asking until he found a surgeon at Johns Hopkins. Flew all the way across the country, that surgeon was willing to remove this primary tumor and give him 17 more years," Young shared. 

She said that as she navigates her daughter’s health journey, she’s doing so armed with the fighting spirit she saw in her late husband. 

"He had a much, much scarier diagnosis. No one wanted to help him. And yet he just would not take no for an answer," Young said. "I feel like we have a bit of that with us always, that we know how to fight, the blueprint has been laid out. You don't take no for an answer. You just fight for what you want."

Their Oakland community

Young, an Oakland native, born and raised in the city, just like her daughter, said she’s also drawing support and strength from her community. 

Last week, days after learning her daughter had cancer, she took to the neighborhood social media site NextDoor. 

She admitted that she’s not one to easily share about her personal life on such public platforms, but she told people about her daughter, Suede’s bravery, her music, and a beautiful thing called hope. 

"As a mother, this news was absolutely gutting, but we are hopeful that the medicine will work, and will eventually render her disease free. We are both very grateful and very hopeful in this moment, and there’s so much joy in hope," Young wrote in the post.

She also leaned into her community as she shared links to her daughter’s newly released song.   

"I know from experience that Oakland rallies around its own," Young wrote, adding, "It’s not lost on me that her diagnosis and this song emerged within the same five days, and I’m so grateful that it’s bringing her a lot of joy right now." 

And to their "Oakland family," the mom offered: "Music is amazing medicine. I hope it brings you some joy." 

Hope over fear

The artist also said she's feeling the love from her community.

"As I've been able to take time and have my community come around to me and show me that they support me and that they care about me," the singer said, "it's been really evident that this is not for no reason and that joy will always, and hope will always, persevere, and fear will never lead you anywhere."

Sanders also pointed to her mother as a pillar and foundation, calling her "the biggest person in my corner."

And she said he’s leaning on God and her faith.

"At first it was definitely more difficult to just look at the future and look at joy and not let fear consume me," the singer said. "So I'm just trying my best to keep fear out of my peripheral and just focus on where I want to go." 

The words to her song come to mind: "Go Bravely. If it’s dark, be a light. Keep your chin to the sky. Wipe your sorry eyes. I know you’ll be alright if you go bravely."

Using music to move forward 

As she goes bravely, she also spoke about her next song that she completed that day she received her diagnosis.

"I started writing this song called ‘The Other Side,’ and I'm recording it later today. It's just crazy. I mean, oftentimes I don't even know how to put my feelings into words at all, but it's a different experience when it comes to writing," the musician shared.

The therapeutic power of music has shown itself in a big way for the songwriter, with this experience, so far, making her even more resolute in her desire to pursue a career in music.  

Healing agent

"I've always kind of used music as an outlet for healing," Sanders said. "I think this whole situation, while it's been crazy, and I wouldn't wish it upon myself necessarily, but I think it's really made me a lot more intentional right now. And just bring that fire back into who I am honestly, and why I want to do this."

She also said that she hoped what she produces and puts out in the universe could serve the same purpose for someone else who may need healing, need hope, and perhaps through her music, may not feel so alone in whatever their journey may be.

"Of course, music is a great way that I'm finding healing and comfort and understanding in myself," the artist said, "but if I could do that for someone else too, that is everything."