From edge-of-your-seat competitions held on the baseball field to battles waged within her own body, Hannah Bloomer has lived her young life with a true competitor’s spirit.

It’s not too often that a 13-year-old eighth grade student can claim that they are a cancer survivor, but following a diagnosis earlier this year, two surgeries and radiation treatment, Bloomer counts herself among those blessed ranks.

Bloomer was diagnosed with thyroid cancer while her Fountain Hills Little League All-Star team was in the midst of playing in the season-ending tournament just a couple of months ago.

She noticed a lump in her throat and, once the doctors investigated, she and her family (Mike, her father, and Ben, her brother) were given the bad news.

Her right thyroid was removed, subsequently followed by the left. After a round of radiation treatment, she’ll now have to take thyroid medication for the rest of her life.

Despite this fact, Bloomer has remained upbeat and can’t seem to keep a smile off her face. The only sign of her treatment is a small scar going across her collar, which she mischievously confessed she likes to make up stories about when people ask her where it came from.

In school, Bloomer most enjoys social studies and English (she especially loves reading biographies, which happen to bridge both of her favorite subjects).

She wants to play volleyball, but her recent treatment got in the way of joining the team this year. Never mind the fact that she just had her thyroids removed, Bloomer wanted to hit the court just as soon as her doctor gave her the go-ahead.

When she’s not dealing with schools or sports, Bloomer said she’s usually hanging out with her best friend, Katie Reed.

And while one might suppose that a recent battle with cancer would be at the forefront of someone’s thoughts less than three months following their initial diagnosis, Bloomer’s mind is constantly on the baseball field, where she feels most at home.

“I especially love the strategy of the game,” Bloomer confessed.

“I started playing when I was [9 or 10]. My brother and I decided to try out Little League and, ever since then, we’ve loved baseball.”

A Diamondbacks and Dodgers fan, Bloomer said it’s only “a little strange” being a girl in a sport that is traditionally played by boys.

“The guys are always joking around and stuff but, in the end, you’re all still really close friends,” she said.

“But you definitely get noticed. I live with boys, so I’m pretty used to it.”

During her most recent season, Bloomer played for the Little League version of one of her favorite teams, the Dodgers. She was eventually picked up to play for the All-Star squad, too.

“It was the best season I’ve ever had,” Bloomer said.

“We came in second place in the championship and first place in the regular season.”

If you ask her which position she plays, Hannah will quickly answer “all of them,” and she’s not exaggerating.

Infield, outfield, on the pitcher’s mound or at catcher, she’s got the skill set to do it all.

“I’ll never forget this one game we played, when I pitched the whole game,” Bloomer said.

“I threw 86 pitches, 12 strikeouts and only one walk. Me and Mitchell Woltkamp [on the other team] were in a pitching duel. It was an amazing game. Fans were coming from the other fields as their games were finishing up just to watch. We ended up winning 2-1.”

Her season coach, Scott Pederson, said that Bloomer is equally talented when bird-dogging pop-flies in the outfield.

“Hannah was playing centerfield and a boy on another team hit what he thought was a homerun over the fence,” Pederson explained.

“Hannah ran with speed to the fence, jumped over the fence and caught the potential homerun ball. She received a standing ovation from parents on both teams. I think many in Little League this year would have said that was the defensive play of the year.”

Pederson said that Bloomer demonstrates all of the key aspects coaches look for in a player, including throwing, fielding, batting for average, batting for power and speed.

“While pitching, she led our team in strikeouts per inning pitched with two-plus,” Pederson said.

“She has a cannon for an arm. Hannah, playing outfield, caught a fly ball and threw in a direct line to get the runner out at home, who was tagging up from third base. Our best catcher, I had to pull one game since Hannah was throwing so hard his hand hurt.”

Hannah said she hopes to play softball for the middle school in its upcoming season but, if they don’t get enough girls out for the team this year, she’ll be trying out for the baseball team. As a freshman next school year, she aims to join coach Bill Nye’s softball squad, a team she has already practiced with on a number of occasions.

Back in August, however, Bloomer’s thoughts of the diamond were momentarily hijacked by a small lump she discovered on the right side of her throat.

“I thought it was just a bug bite at first, but then it got bigger,” Bloomer said.

“So we went to the doctor and let him take a look at it.”

Bloomer said that the first biopsy came back “with some bad cells.”

After that, she was sent to a specialist who decided to take out the right side of her right thyroid. When those results came back cancerous, it was time to remove both of her thyroids.

That was followed by a dose of radiation treatment and another set of tests to make sure she was all clear. She’ll need to get the occasional check-up to be sure the cancer is gone and take thyroid pills from now on.

“There was about a 10- day period there where things got pretty bad, not knowing,” said Mike Bloomer.

“You hear the word ‘cancer,’ and then you have to wait and find out what, exactly, it is. There are two types of really bad thyroid cancer, and thank God it wasn’t one of those. You don’t want to call any cancer ‘good’ cancer, but she was diagnosed with one that they say is totally treatable [follicular lymphoma].”

Bloomer said that, at the time, she was more in shock than upset, but that it was something “you definitely don’t want to hear.”

“I didn’t really want to think about it, I just wanted it to all be over,” Bloomer said.

“Hearing the word ‘cancer’ is really scary.”

Nowadays, Bloomer said she actually feels better than she did before her diagnosis.

“I was always so tired before the surgeries,” she said.

“I don’t know what it did, but I think something happened there because I’m not so tired anymore.”

It was a scary road for a few months there, but Bloomer and her family pulled through it together with the support of their friends. She’s excited for the future and, of course, ready to get back out on the baseball field.

“Hannah got a tough break with her thyroid cancer, but if anyone can get past it, Hannah can,” said coach Pederson.

“And the prognosis is excellent. It was a great pleasure to coach such an excellent young lady.”