Leukemia
kills CSULB student
By
Kristen Force
On-line Forty-Niner
Manuel
Mercado, an 18-year-old Cal State Long Beach
freshman, passed away Aug. 28 after a two
year fight with leukemia.
 Mercado
was diagnosed with cancer in January 2000
while he was a junior at Narbonne High School
in Harbor City. The cancer was undetectable
six months later, but reappeared in May
2002.
He remained in good health until the second
diagnosis, said his sister Laura, a sophomore
mechanical engineering major at CSULB.
Mercado was a linguistics major with a concentration
in Spanish. He had planned to add religious
studies as a second major, according to
Laura Mercado.
“It was a struggle for him to even graduate
from high school,” Laura said. “But in college,
he was doing really well. After he was diagnosed
he became a straight A student.”
Mercado was actively involved in the youth
group at Galilea Christian Church and the
campus organization Crusade For Christ.
After his diagnosis, Mercado’s goal was
to write a book about his struggle with
cancer, Laura said.
The American Wish Foundation gave him the
opportunity to write the book, but he was
not able to complete it before he passed
away.
The Mercado family is planning to finish
the book for him as a memorial, Laura said.
They also plan to start a scholarship in
his behalf for high school students sometime
in the future.
“He was a great, loving person,” Laura said.
“We want everyone to remember him.”
Mercado is survived by his parents, Maria
and Melquiades, his brother Melquiades Jr.,
and three sisters, Josefina, Laura and Stephanie.
“It’s so amazing that you don’t know what
you have until you’ve lost it,” Laura said.
“We all miss him so much.”
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