Pin Cancer: Shae Salerno (Carlisle, Pa.) not backing down from diagnosis

Photo: Carlisle varsity head coach Joe Wilson (left) and Shae Salerno (right) repping their “Shae Strong” wristbands.

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 10, which printed on July 31, 2026. Click here to visit Shae’s Pin Cancer fundraiser link! 

By Tristan Warner

For most high school wrestlers, the biggest challenge during a season is finding a way to win the next match, but for Carlisle High School (Carlisle, Pa.) rising junior Shae Salerno, the toughest opponent came in May 2025 when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer.

“I woke up one morning and urinated blood,” he said. “We went straight to the hospital.”

What followed was something neither Salerno nor his family ever expected. Testing revealed a mass inside his bladder. He was referred to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where he received a diagnosis rarely seen in someone his age.

“He was a completely healthy kid,” his mother, Haily Russell, said. “It caught me completely off guard.”

Doctors surgically removed the tumor, keeping Salerno in the hospital for several days as he recovered. Since then, he has returned to Hershey every three months for follow-up appointments. When the cancer returned once, he underwent another surgery followed by chemotherapy delivered directly into his bladder.

Through it all, however, one thing never changed: Salerno wanted to wrestle.

“He fought us all the time to get back on the wrestling mat,” Russell said. “He didn’t want to listen to any hospital advice.”

While treatment sidelined him temporarily, wrestling remained the motivation pushing him forward.

“I took a break after I got diagnosed,” Salerno said. “I spent days in the hospital and missed school.”

His return wasn’t easy; conditioning took a hit and energy levels, at times, fluctuated. Some days he simply felt exhausted from treatment.

“I missed the first tournament and had a shaky start when I got back,” he said. “Some days I’m tired, but it (getting back on the mat) is better than sitting at home.”

Rather than dwelling on circumstances beyond his control, Salerno made a conscious decision about how he wanted to approach his diagnosis.

“I was just thinking about it,” he said. “At the end of the day, I can’t do anything about it. Being upset isn’t going to change anything.”

That perspective has become contagious. Russell credits her son’s outlook with helping others facing similar battles.

“His positive mindset is what is helping others get through it,” she said.

Inside the wrestling room, teammates have helped keep life feeling normal.

“I don’t want people to feel bad for me,” Salerno said. “Everyone is there for me. All my coaches have been there for me.”

Throughout the journey, the Carlisle wrestling community rallied around Salerno.

“His coaches and entire wrestling team have been behind him the entire way,” Russell said.

Carlisle varsity head coach Joe Wilson said, “Shea is a great kid, hard worker and a good teammate. Most people, especially a high school kid, would have taken this diagnosis and shut down. Shea did the opposite. It made him work even harder. He has never used it as an excuse. He just put his head down and continued to work hard, be a leader and a great teammate.”

Russell admits there were moments when returning to competition wasn’t easy for her as a parent.

“After he was diagnosed and the chemo, every time he would get out of breath during a wrestling match, the worst things started going through my head,” she said.

This past season, Salerno found another way to turn his own battle into something bigger than himself.

After learning about Pin Cancer during his treatment, he signed up for the organization’s Wrestle for a Cure campaign, a nationwide fundraising initiative that provides a platform for wrestlers, teams and fans to raise money for cancer research and support programs.

Founded in 2012, Pin Cancer has donated more than $1.5 million to various organizations and wrestling families directly impacted by cancer.

Russell hopes other parents facing similar diagnoses remember one thing.

“Keep going,” she said. “For the other parents, you have to be strong for your kid. We will get through it.”

As for Salerno, he isn’t interested in sympathy; he’d rather focus on wrestling. And he is already looking to next season.

“My goal is to get to states,” he said.

Cancer may have interrupted his wrestling career, but it certainly hasn’t changed who he is.

For Salerno, he has realized some of life’s greatest victories aren’t measured by medals, championships or matches won.

Simply refusing to quit is the biggest win of all.