It’s been five years since my daughter was diagnosed with stage ¾ Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). She had just graduated college, and she had a lump on her right clavicle area. We went to the doctor, and then it all started, from CT scans to biopsy to telling us that it would be six months of chemo, and that’s it.
Before starting chemo, we chose to freeze Jacqueline’s eggs. She underwent two weeks of hormone injections and had morning appointments every day for blood work and vaginal sonograms. They retrieved her eggs, and the next day she got her port inserted into her chest. The following day she started her chemo.
We set our goal and not once did Jacqueline stop living. She had more of a social life than anyone I know who was undergoing treatments. She is a singer/songwriter, and through everything, she did not stop. HL is 85% curable, but unfortunately for us, she fell into the 15% where first-line treatment was not working. Her doctor decided to stop treatment and move on to a more aggressive one where she was in the hospital for four days every two weeks. Again, that did not work. So, I asked about a clinical trial to get her into remission so that she could undergo a stem cell transplant. Her doctors at Columbia agreed, and we found a trial at NYU. There was one spot left, and Jacqueline took it. Most of her cancer was gone except for a small spot that was irradiated every day for three weeks. She was now headed to her stem cell transplant using her own stem cells because the cancer was not in her bone marrow. She is four years out from the stem cell transplant and is currently in remission.
During all this, she did a music video, released two songs, and is awaiting the release of five songs that she recorded at the Cutting Room in New York City. She is my hero every day, and she has helped other young adults along the way. She has donated wigs and has given true advice to other young adults going through blood cancer treatment. She donated all the proceeds from her new release, “Alive,” to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
--Written by family member.
Jacqueline
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)
