Survivor’s Stories

Joanna | Dedicated to tomorrow’s sibling.

For about a year before I was diagnosed with cancer I felt something was wrong. Blood tests were normal but in January 2003 I developed a cough and went to the doctor. I wasn’t overwhelmed when an X-ray showed a tumor in my chest that turned out to be non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but my family and my fiancé were devastated.

A friend who is a nurse referred me to Dr. John Elefteriades for surgery but he couldn’t operate on the tumor because it was wrapped around a nerve. He referred me to Dr. Dennis Cooper, which was a godsend. I had two rounds of chemotherapy that shrank the tumor but didn’t completely get rid of it. Then we tried radiation. I was able to work during the six weeks of radiation, but the tumor actually grew and it was getting close to my heart. I was glad when Dr. Cooper suggested surgery and after Dr. Elefteriades removed what was left of the tumor, I was in remission.

Six months later, the tumor came back. Dr. Cooper had been talking to me about a stem cell transplant because my cancer was so aggressive, but first we had to get rid of the tumor. I had additional rounds of chemo and the cancer came back again.  The worst thing was that I would take two steps forward and then something would show up and I would take one step back.

My sister Carol had signed up to be on the bone marrow transplant list in 1996 but she was never called until I needed her. There was never any hesitation on her part and she was a perfect match, even though she has a different blood type. Carol came to Yale for a few hours where they filtered the stem cells out of her blood so I could use them. She said it wasn’t difficult or painful and she even had a contest with the donor next to her to see who could donate the most stem cells.

I had two days of chemo to destroy my bone marrow and then I received the transplant, which was like a blood transfusion. It went so smoothly, it was remarkable. The only negative part was that I later developed a rash on my face from a complication called Graft-versus-host disease. I also developed leg pain, but Dr. Cooper and his team treated the side effects and I’m fine now.

Now when I look back on my experience, I try to put things in perspective. I don’t wake up in the middle of the night worrying about work like I used to. I try to enjoy my family, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and de-stress with meditation. Even when the cancer kept coming back, I didn’t get discouraged. I wasn’t ever out of options. There was always something new to try and I knew I had the stem cell transplant to turn to. I think going through the treatment with a positive attitude really helped me.

Carol and I have become closer since the transplant. We talk every day now.  She saved my life – that’s how I look at it.