Writer/actor Sam Roberson feels like he's living a second life.

Roberson was 8 and in the second grade in Fremont, Calif., when he had frequent bloody noses. He and his family dismissed them. One day, his nose bled for two hours at school. His mother took him to a hospital, where leukemia was diagnosed.

"My parents knew nothing about cancer -- only that when you get it, you die," he said. "My uncle died from cancer. But he was a smoker. I was a kid."

Roberson's family put him on an aggressive treatment program that included chemotherapy. The young boy with the bright smile was not expected to make it.

"My parents were pretty young," he recalled. "No one prepares you for when your child gets cancer."

Even as they fretted and fought, Roberson's family prepared for the worst. They sent him on a Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World in Florida.

"I remember the limo ride and all the rides in the park," he said. "That stuff was to let me have fun before I die. But for me, it was just to have fun."

Through song, spoken word and poetry, Roberson chronicles his journey through sickness in a one-person show called "and they said I wouldn't make it" that is part of the annual Fresh Ink series of new works.

Put on by Illusion Theater, this year's Fresh Ink did not have an announced theme. But one has emerged, said Michael Robins, producing director of the Illusion. "It's about survival," he said.

"Sam's work goes into some dark places, but he comes through it. And all of the other pieces involve surviving something."

The 21st annual Fresh Ink includes "Cirque de Guerre," a war-themed circus by Beth Gilleland, Blayn Lemke and Bill Berneking.

Fresh Ink, which started last weekend with performances by Los Angeles-based comedian Amy Anderson, is rounded out by a quartet of stories about motherhood. Aimee K. Bryant's music-filled "Child of God" deals with her new journey as a single parent.

And "I'm Telling," staged by Lisa Channer, is performed by co-writers Darcey Engen, Maria Asp and Nanci Olesen.

"The thing about theater is that it can offer you guidance through whatever you're going through," said Robins.

Roberson said that he was moved to write his story because when he was in the midst of his treatments and all seemed hopeless, his family had very little to cling to. Other sick children he got to know because of his illness did not make it.

"We're an athletic family," he said. "We believe we can beat anything. And we did it by faith."

He wants to give people encouragement.

"There were no stories out there like mine," he said. "I want to let people who are suffering something horrible know that they can beat it. They can."

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390