Inspirational Stories

Monica was learning how to be a new mom to a six-month-old baby when her night sweats got worse and worse. She also seemed to have a cough that would not go away. It turns out that her symptoms were not due to the daycare bugs her daughter brought home. In April 2017, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Her clinical care team discovered a malignant 5 inch mass in her chest near her heart.

She was surprised to hear the news but had the privilege of knowing a thing or two about cancer. She had recently worked at Northwestern University on cancer disparities in Chicago and previously, worked as a management and operations consultant to help clinical care teams and administrative support staff redesign their processes and improve their team culture at the Stanford Health Care cancer center, in the hematology and gynecologic oncology departments.

She is currently in remission and loving every minute of life with her husband, toddler, and two miniature American shepherd dogs. She attended her first Light The Night walk in Chicago. She does not take The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for granted as they fund research and advocate for all to receive the best care with intent to cure patients diagnosed with blood cancers.