FLUSHING — Blaine Palmer never expected a routine colonoscopy to change his life. 

Last July, doctors discovered colon cancer that had spread to his liver. Almost a year later, after surgery and 21 rounds of chemotherapy, the longtime Holy Cross High School French teacher and dean is searching for a living donor to help save his life. 

“I’m in a good place, because there is a lot of hope, and things are stabilized as far as cancer goes,” Palmer said. “But we’re in a holding pattern.” 

The diagnosis was frightening at first, said Palmer, 50, but what has helped him along the way is the overwhelming support he has received from his loved ones, including his wife, Aneta, and his colleagues and students at Holy Cross High School. 

“When I come into Holy Cross, it’s not cancer, cancer, cancer,” he said. “I don’t feel awkward, and I feel comfortable and at ease. That means it’s home.” 

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After none of Palmer’s immediate family members have proven to be viable donors, Holy Cross recently launched an outreach effort, including an email to the entire school community and a social media campaign to spread the word. 

“It’s clear that Mr. Palmer has a huge impact upon his students, that they love him,” said Holy Cross President Mark Mongelluzzo. “His care for students is palpable, and it’s just the way they care for him, the way they’ve responded to this situation.” 

Holy Cross Principal Dr. Weedens C. Blanchard said Palmer’s dedication has remained evident despite nearly a year of treatment. 

“One of the things that I love about Blaine is his passion,” Blanchard said. “His ability to do what he needs to get done day in and day out, despite what he’s going through right now, is something that I truly admire.” 

An Oklahoma native who has once lived in France, Japan, and Germany, Palmer jokingly referred to himself as “a bit of an oddball” in the middle of Queens. But after settling in Sunnyside and watching Holy Cross grow over the 13 years he’s taught there, Palmer says New York is now his home. 

That sense of belonging was evident in the recent Holy Cross graduates who gathered at the school in their free time to support Palmer and share stories about his impact on their lives. 

Eighteen-year-old Yvonne Pirovolikos, valedictorian of Holy Cross’ Class of 2026, took Palmer’s French class all four years of high school, and said he helped shape the person she has become. 

“Few teachers in my life have moved me as a person like Mr. Palmer has,” she said. “He makes me more curious, more kind, more caring because of who he is. I don’t think I’d be the same person if I wasn’t put in that French class four years ago.” 

Pirovolikos said Palmer inspired her love of the French language and culture, and plans to continue studying French in the future. 

Recent graduate David Siroka, 17, echoed those sentiments. 

“He actually cares about each of us individually,” Siroka said. “Even if only one of us is having a problem, he will go out of his way and do the most just to make sure that we are getting the best education that we can.” 

Siroka said Palmer’s influence extended well beyond the classroom. 

“I think Mr. Palmer actually genuinely changed my life,” he said. “Throughout my years at Holy Cross, I was very awkward and very closed off, and he gave me an opportunity to change that. It made me realize myself as a person.” 

Some students said they would fill out the required questionnaire to be a potential liver donor, which is part of a screening process through NYU Langone Health’s Living Donor Liver Transplant Program to determine whether they are medically compatible. According to school officials, Palmer hopes to find a donor by August. 

“It’s hard for me, but people have been so kind to me, and even if they’re just kind of dipping their toe into: ‘What does that mean to be a donor? I’ll check it out. I’ll do the questionnaire,’ or just telling me, ‘I’m sorry I can’t for whatever reason, but I’m thinking about you.’ All of that helps me so much,” Palmer said. “I just have this feeling of gratitude, and that, I feel, is so healthy for me and gives me that lift.” 

Palmer said he has been encouraged not only by the growing outreach effort and support, but also by the care he has received from his medical team at NYU Langone throughout his treatment. 

For him, however, one of the greatest sources of strength has come from his faith. 

“People that are extending prayers to me, it means more than I would have expected,” Palmer said. “I have felt some kind of comfort that I can’t explain — and yet I can. That’s faith completely.” 

That faith is reflected throughout Holy Cross, where school leaders have embraced the donor search as both a practical mission and a spiritual one. 

During interviews about Palmer’s story, Mongelluzzo intentionally chose to stand beside a statue of St. André Bessette, the French-Canadian religious brother and only canonized saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross, who is known for healings attributed to his intercession. 

“We’re hopeful that having St. Brother André behind Blaine will bring about the result we need here,” Mongelluzzo said.