A Novel Life: Writing New Chapters After a Childhood Cancer Diagnosis

About this episode

Jenna shares her inspiring journey of overcoming childhood cancer and the impact of her support system.

It’s hard not to compare Jenna’s life story to a novel. At age 15, she and her world were upended by lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. As words like biopsy, chemo and radiation therapy became daily realities, her high school sweetheart, Colton, remained steadfast at her side, and her mother, Theresa, meticulously advocated for her care. Even after a relapse, Jenna was inspired by her oncology team at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital to stay the course. Motivated by her care providers, Jenna later pursued a career of her own in nursing, married Colton and, after giving birth to a daughter and a son, became a nurse in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – again inspired by the care providers in her life. This episode features Jenna alongside her mother, Theresa, her WashU Medicine pediatric oncologist, David Wilson, MD, and nurse practitioner Debra Spoljaric, RN, MSNP, who leads Siteman Cancer Center’s Lifelong Outcomes Clinic for survivors of childhood cancer. Jenna shares examples of courage, resilience and love — and the promise of a storybook ending. “This is Cancer” is brought to you by Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Wash U Medicine…

People in this episode

Guest: Jenna

Topics covered

• childhood cancer
• resilience
• nursing career
• family support
• oncology
• survivorship

Keywords

• childhood cancer
• lymphoma
• nursing
• survivorship
• resilience
• family support
• oncology

Sponsors

Siteman Cancer Center

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Wash U Medicine

Places: St. Louis, St. Louis Children’s Hospital

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