College volleyball star's worst nightmare comes true as she goes for routine dental operation

By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:36, 25 May 2026 | Updated: 21:41, 25 May 2026 A college volleyball player's routine dental surgery led doctors to discover she is battling cancer. Kendall Schara, 21, had her wisdom teeth removed in between her junior and senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in April 2025. However, she developed an infection at the extraction site that would not heal, which prompted doctors to run a bone marrow biopsy. The results revealed a shocking diagnosis: the volleyball captain was suffering from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). 'It's insane how quickly life can change,' Schara told ABC News on Monday.   'I had to ask, do I have a high chance of surviving, and at the age of 21, I don't think that is something anyone should have to ask.' AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that tends to get worse quickly, according to the Mayo Clinic. Although it can be diagnosed at any age, doctors say it is most common in patients 45 years or older.  Kendall Schara, 21, had her wisdom teeth removed in between her junior and senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay However, she developed an infection at the extraction site that would not heal, which lead doctors to run a bone marrow biopsy that revealed she had leukemia Schara began receiving chemotherapy treatment, but after a month, doctors determined that she would need a stem cell transplant.  Her younger sister, Elle, got tested and was a perfect donor match for Schara. 'It was just the most devastating moment that I've probably faced in my life,' Elle told the news outlet of her sister's diagnosis. In July 2025, Schara received her first stem cell donation from her sister. Schara said receiving her sister's donation was 'one of the brightest moments of this journey'. About a month later, she returned home from the hospital and was honored by her teammates with a tournament named after her in September. 'The beginning was the worst. It's like, my life is going to change. It's a depressing time for sure,' Schara told WLUK at the event. 'I feel like I've always considered myself a strong person, but you don't really know how strong you are until you go through something like this and you're put into a situation where you have no other choice.' Her younger sister, Elle (center left), donated her stem cells to Schara  About a month after the treatment she was able to return home from the hospital and was honored by her teammates with a tournament named after her in September UWGB volleyball head coach Abbey Sutherland said, 'For us to just be able to be with her, because we’ve missed her so much, and to celebrate her... She deserves that more than anybody.' In November, she was honored with a sportsmanship award by the Horizon League, which is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. On May 19, her mother, Michelle, announced on GoFundMe that Schara's latest bone marrow biopsy showed no signs of leukemia.  'Thank you to everyone for the continued calls, texts, support, kind words, check-ins, and prayers as we continue to navigate this journey,' her mother wrote. 'We feel very lucky and blessed to be able to share good news.' The Daily Mail has contacted Schara for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.