For many high schoolers, it’s challenging enough to balance being a multi-sport athlete with everything that comes with school.

For New Hartford’s Ashlee Fisher, that’s nothing. She’s a three-sport athlete, doing it while fighting off Hodgkin's lymphoma. 

“I know it’s temporary, it’ll be over soon," Fisher said with a smile. "Playing sports is helping me get through it.”

Sports have been a huge part of Fisher’s life since she was a kid.

“I loved being outside," she said. "Me and my neighbors would always play outside together. We’d always play kickball, wiffle ball; I loved to compete.”

Now she’s focused on helping her volleyball team win another league title. With every dig or attack, she gets closer to her goal, but those competitions don’t compare to another battle she’s fighting.

“Just a regular check-up; I wouldn’t have even known if I didn’t go," Fisher said. 

She was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last August. It’s a cancer that affects your immune system. For many, that news brings tears, uncertainty and panic. But for Fisher, it was just another challenge.

“Nothing, really," said Fisher. "I knew I would be able to get through it. I just knew it’d be just another thing I’d have to go through. I would say I’m pretty mentally tough; I don’t think about the bad things that are going on. I try and think positive.”

With every smile and laugh, that positivity shines through. She has chemotherapy every other week, admitting those days are the hardest. That doesn’t stop her from being there for her team, though. That’s been the key over the last six months: focusing on what she loves. 

“Not like getting distracted, keeping going with the sports," she said. "Even if I don’t want to go to practice, I make sure to go and just have fun.” 

It's a mindset embraced by everyone around her. 

“The team sees what she goes through," said New Hartford girls volleyball head coach Bill Gardinier. "That not-quit attitude really helps the team a lot, too. We don’t quit on the floor, and she’s one of the main reasons.” 

Fisher’s days away from her final chemotherapy treatment on Feb. 7. An uncertain future awaits, but she’s confident she’ll spike out cancer. 

“I like to keep it upbeat," she said. "I just want to try and keep like a positive, just all the time, because I’m not crying about it, so I don’t want anybody else crying about it.”