An Edinburg teenager is getting ready to celebrate a milestone in his cancer journey.

Diego Huerta has been battling leukemia for three years. Huerta described the diagnosis as “eye-opening.”

“I was like, ‘Are you guys messing with me?'” Huerta recalled. “Then I saw the look on my parents' face, and that told me it needed to be taken serious.”

Huerta’s mother, Adhira Huerta, said her son was diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic.

“It was in the peak of the pandemic, and we assumed Covid was going to be the diagnosis we were given, but instead we found out it was going to be leukemia,” Huerta said.

Saturday marks the end of Huerta’s chemotherapy pill treatment.

"It's been something I’ve been looking forward to so much, and the anticipation of getting to that has not been easy," Yadhira said.

The mother and son duo said they’re both relieved as they reflect on the hard times they had to endure on this journey.

“The ups and downs were troublesome, and they were hard to get through,” Huerta recalled. “There have been many joyous moments, but unfortunately there has been some suffering along the way. I wish I would have never gone through this, but I’m glad that we are finally now able to say it’s over.”

Although this is the end of his treatment, Huerta said this marks the beginning of his service to others and enter the field of law enforcement.

“I feel like it's calling me, there is a lot of change that needs to be done, and I can help people in a good way,” Huerta said.

Huerta will receive monthly check-ups at the Vannie Cook Clinic where his mother works at until he eventually joins their long term cancer survivor program.

Huerta said he hopes to one day raise money for child cancer patients and cancer research after he was inspired by friends he made along the way who have since died of cancer.

Until he reaches that goal, Huerta said he had one piece of advice for cancer patients, and everyone else who is struggling.

“Don't lose hope,” Huerta said. “You really need to have that faith in you because I struggled a lot with believing I’d get back to normal, but now that I’m at the finish line, I can already feel it. It gets better, just be patient, let it pass through.”