POCATELLO — If not for the scar blended into her hairstyle on the right side of Sidney Stewart’s head, it would be hard to tell there was anything wrong with the pretty, vibrant 16-year-old. But behind the scar, Stewart is battling brain cancer.

    Tumors, caused by a chromosomal defect called Neurofibromatosis type 1 or NF-1, have been a part of Sidney’s life since she was 6 years old. A mutation of chromosome 17 causes the teen’s body to grow tumors along her nervous system.

    “You grow tumors anywhere there is a nerve,” Sidney’s mother Lisa Stewart said about her daughter’s condition. “It seems like every two years something crops up.”

    As a result, Sidney has undergone numerous surgeries over the years to remove the disruptive growths along her nervous system.

    This summer, the fight with NF-1 took a bad turn. Sidney’s was diagnosed with cancer.

    “They found a tumor in her brain and they removed it June 16,” Lisa said. “It came back with stage 3 cancer. We’ve been doing radiation and chemotherapy treatments daily since.”

    Sidney and her mother have had to spend most of the last six weeks in Utah where Sidney receives radiation therapy at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah and chemotherapy at Primary Children’sHospital in Salt Lake City.

    The Highland High School student and her mother were back in town this week and a surprise was waiting. A friend of Sidney’s grandparents and former Pocatello police officer Mo Canfield has coffee nearly every morning at the McDonald’s in Chubbuck and Canfield decided to enlist the Pocatello Police Department’s help in cheering up Sidney.

    Shortly after Sidney and her mother joined the grandparents for breakfast at McDonald’s on Tuesday, Pocatello officers Mark Daniels and Russ Olsen came into the restaurant and handed her a fistful of individual business cards from 34 officers on the force. On the back of each card was a personal greeting and a wish for a speedy recovery.

    “I was shocked,” Sidney said. “First one walked in and sat down with us and then the other. They said, ‘We’re here to get Sidney.’”

    What the officers got was the teen’s undying gratitude.

    In addition to the well-wishes on the cards, the PPD officers said Sidney will be able to ride in the squad car that leads the Parade of Lights in Old Town this November. The officers also gave her a signed photo of Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter that has the message: “Sidney, God’s speed to your recovery.”

    The effort by the police department was organized by Pocatello Police Chief Scott Marchand’s assistant, Donna Monroe.

    It was another piece of good news for Sidney who had to give up her cheerleading spot at Pocatello High School during her sophomore year after making the squad as a freshman. Her health issues robbed her of an opportunity to continue and she ended up transferring to Highland. Lisa said administrators and teachers at both high schools have been very good at getting school work to her daughter so she can try to stay up with her studies.

    The really big news for Sidney is that her doctors in Utah have given her the green light to attend the Warped Tour band festival in Salt Lake City this Saturday. Sidney was given tickets to attend that included a chance to have lunch with her favorite band, Piece the Veil, and get up on stage with them by the Living the Dream Foundation. A doctor from Primary Children’s Hospital will go with her.

    The concert follows a www.gofundme.com campaign that has raised about $4,000 to help pay for the family’s lodging in Salt Lake City when Sidney is undergoing cancer treatments. Sidney’s father works as an engineer for Union Pacific Railroad and her mother is a hair stylist.

    “Usually you don’t see a community just get together like that,” Lisa said. “People I haven’t seen since high school have come through for us.”

    There was one disappointment for Sidney this summer. She had planned to attend a special camp in Utah for people ages 16 to 22 from around the world who suffer from NF-1. Her cancer diagnosis and treatment forced her to cancel her attendance.

    But Sidney remains upbeat despite her cancer. She will head back to Utah for more treatments next week.

    Sidney recalled that when she was younger, Dr. Lor Randall of Primary Children’s climbed up on her bed and told her, “This is a gift that keeps on giving.”

    The Pocatello teen said wants to attend medical school and become a doctor dedicated to the treatment of NF-1. In the meantime, Sidney said she’ll keep fighting.

    “I’ll just saddle up and ride it,” she said about her illness. “Sometimes I don’t regret having it because I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it.”