A Discussion With Jennifer Delgado on Life After Cancer and Weathering the Storm – Thrive Global
By daniellenierenberg
JenniferDelgado grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended Webster University, whereshe received her Bachelor of Arts in Media Communications. She then went to MississippiState University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Geosciences witha concentration in Broadcast Meteorology.
In 2006,Jennifer Delgado worked as a morning and noon meteorologist for WTVR-TV inRichmond, Virginia. Then in 2008, she began working at CNN International inAtlanta, Georgia, as their primary meteorologist, as well as a fill-inmeteorologist on all CNN networks. In 2010, she won a Peabody Award for CNNscoverage on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2013,Delgado was hired as a co-host of AMHQ (Americas Morning Headquarters) at TheWeather Channel. She anchored continuous coverage of breaking news and weatherevents, including live interviews with state and local officials, experts andresidents. She was also their fill-in co-host of Wake-Up with Al.
JenniferDelgado began freelancing as a meteorologist/anchor for WXIA-TV in 2017. Shepresented weathercasts every six minutes during a two-hour morning newscast andproduced weathercasts for radio, web, and the 24-hour weather channel.
Two yearsago, Jennifer Delgado was diagnosed with blood cancer. She underwent treatmentand received a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. Since the transplant, she hasbeen receiving treatment at the Emory Winship Cancer Institute and advocatingfor cancer awareness and more bone marrow donors.
No one is ever prepared tohear the words, you have cancer. It literally blew up my world. I had to stopworking because beating cancer became my full-time job. I knew something waswrong for months based on my symptoms. I was tiredall the time, my bones were aching, had migraines, vertigo andconfusion. Dealing with any illness is stressful, especially if you arent ableto work. Some people say cancer changed their life for the better; however, Idont want to credit cancer for anything positive. It was a wake-up call. Lifeis short, and you have to enjoy every moment.
I immediately went into adeep depression. I hid and only shared the news with my close friends andfamily. I was trying to hide the awful chemo port in my chest and made excuses for my appearanceand fatigue. It was very stressful. I think anyone dealing with a seriousmedical condition should reach out to people going through the same battle. I got some amazing tips from fellow blood cancersurvivors on Instagram and Facebook support groups. I have formed many closebonds and when I am feeling down they completely understand. Cancer patients caneasily go through their savings in a short amount of time. I was lucky to haveamazing health insurance but not everyone is that fortunate. There is a lot of grant money out there forpeople struggling financially. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is anamazing organization and helps patients with everything from financial help,information on clinical trials etc.
If you are strong enough, Isay its important to be your own health advocate. You know your body best. Ialso suggest if you have one, reaching out to a friend or family member whoworks in medicine (nurse, PA, doctor) to be your medical advocate. The advocatecan come to your appointments or even join a conference call during yourappointments when you need help understanding your treatment options. I waslucky to have both my mom and one of my best friends to help me interpreteverything. Never be afraid to ask your doctor questions, and dont forgetabout the physicians assistant, who often has more availability.
I was going back and forthto the doctor for nearly a year, and they keep dismissing my symptoms. At onepoint, one doctor told me to take probiotics. I finally decided it was time toget a second opinion when I was having trouble walking. Luckily, I found Dr.Drew Freilich, whom I credit with saving my life. He recognized that mysymptoms were severe and insisted that I needed an MRI. Thats how theydiscovered I had a blood cancer that was attacking my bones. I could havebecome disabled if I had waited longer to get help. If you know something iswrong, you have to be persistent about getting answers.
I know it sounds clich, butmy friends, family, and neighbors. They all took excellent care of me. Theydrove me to the hospital for chemotherapy or bone marrow biopsies. My friends were great and woulddrop by to bring me food or help clean up myhouse.
I know it may sound sillybut my dogs really helped keep my spirits up. Quite often, it was just me and the dogs and duringisolation. I truly believe that pets are healing, and studies show that havingone improves your mental health. There were several weeks when I had to be awayfrom my dogs because my immune system was too weak. I was lucky enough to havegreat friends watch my fur babies. I even tried to convince my friends to driveby Emory Hospital so that I could see them.
I would say you have to bepositive. It seems like its a long way away, and you wonder at times whetheror not everything you did is going to pay off when you finally get toremission. So, I think you have to be positive because you get very paranoid. Ibelieve positive thinking can be healing and improve your health. Keeping inmind that everyones journey is different, I think its also important to see apsychologist or therapist. Sometimes its easier to share your real concernswith a stranger. We always try and put on a brave face for family and friends.
Aftereverything, I felt like I had to give back to the cancer community and EmoryWinship Cancer Center. I got my dogs certified to be Happy Tails therapydogs, and now we visit patients battling cancer while they are getting chemo.Its amazing and emotional all at the same time. Many times, patients will say,your puppy made my day.
Iam also trying to raise awareness for the need of more bone marrow donors.Right now, the majority of donors come from Europe. It would be awesome if morepeople would register to be a bone marrow donor. Its a simple swab test. Ithink its a small price to pay, considering more than 170,000 people arediagnosed with blood cancer every year. Check out Be The Match or The Leukemia& Lymphoma Society.
I am not going to sugarcoatit, staying motivated is extremely challenging and a daily battle. I thinkevery cancer survivor questions, why did this happen to me? Is it gone? How longwill I stay in remission? It can be quite depressing, but you have to live forthe day and stick to a routine. I try to remind myself that there is a reasonwhy I am still alive, and I want to give back to others who are struggling.
Everything. I had months ofchemo to get my cancer level down enough to collect my stem cells for thetransplant. I wondered constantly, will I be in remission? And then once Iwas in remission, how long will I stay in remission before I relapse? Whenyoure dealing with blood cancers, most have no cure. So, theres always thatchance of relapse, and youre always worrying about it.
I did six rounds of chemobefore I was even ready to get a transplant. The stem cell transplant wassomething I was dreading because of the high dose of chemotherapy and losing myhair. That can be a very difficult experience, especially for women. After thosesix rounds, they collected my stem cells, which is not a fun process. Then theyprepped me, and I had the transplant.
After, I was in isolation atthe hospital for three weeks. Then I went home, and I was still under isolationfor another 100+ days. I felt like I was ready to lose my mind. During thistime, your white blood cells are regenerating, which means you dont have animmune system, and you suffer from extreme fatigue and pain. Walking up a shortflight of stairs would wipe me out. I couldnt eat salads, fruits, basicallyanything raw. When I left the house, Id have to wear a mask to protect myimmune system. I really hated that because everyone would stare and pretty muchknew I had cancer.
However, to put a positivespin on it, because of my time in isolation at home, I really felt my creativejuices start to flow. I began brainstorming and thinking of a lot of differentthings because life is short, and the cancer was my wake-up call.
So, my best advice duringthat period is to make a reading list and binge-watch shows on Netflix. I readthe Game of Thrones series. Iliterally had a calendar counting down to 100 days. Thats also the time whenyour hair finally starts to grow back!
View post:
A Discussion With Jennifer Delgado on Life After Cancer and Weathering the Storm - Thrive Global
- Rejuvenating the immune system by depleting certain stem cells - National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov) - April 19th, 2024
- New gene therapy eliminates need for bone marrow transplant. Here's how it works. - CBS News - April 19th, 2024
- New gene therapy eliminates need for bone marrow transplant. Here's how it works. - MSN - April 19th, 2024
- Long Island boy with rare blood disorder undergoes gene therapy - MSN - April 19th, 2024
- Philadelphia Wings player, Connecticut man will be forever bonded by bone marrow donation: "He's my hero" - CBS Philly - April 10th, 2024
- VRD versus VCD as induction therapy before autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma: a nationwide ... - Nature.com - April 10th, 2024
- Register as a bone marrow donor today and save lives - The Citizen - April 10th, 2024
- Resilient anatomy and local plasticity of naive and stress haematopoiesis - Nature.com - March 26th, 2024
- A Deeper Depth of Response After Salvage Therapy Improves Outcomes of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in ... - Cureus - March 26th, 2024
- Iron restriction keeps blood stem cells young, researchers find - Phys.org - March 18th, 2024
- Blood drive, bone marrow testing to be held in local woman's memory - The Winchester Star - March 18th, 2024
- Signal of Benefit for Stem Cell Therapy in Progressive MS - Medscape - March 10th, 2024
- Woman, 22, With Leukemia Recalls Symptoms And New Treatment She Received: EXCLUSIVE - TODAY - March 10th, 2024
- This Swedish startup wants to reduce the cost, and controversy, around stem cell production - TechCrunch - March 10th, 2024
- Outcomes and prognosis of haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with FLT3-ITD mutated ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- Harmonizing definitions for hematopoietic recovery, graft rejection, graft failure, poor graft function, and donor ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- Hematopoietic cell transplantation and cell therapy activity landscape survey in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a report ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- How an MS friendship led to HSCT and a love of running - Multiple Sclerosis News Today - March 10th, 2024
- Iron Limitation Preserves Youthfulness of Blood Stem Cells - Mirage News - March 10th, 2024
- Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis: A retrospective analysis of the ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- AJMC in the Press, February 23, 2024 - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - February 24th, 2024
- Orca Bio Presents Promising Data on Orca-T in Two Oral Presentations at the 2024 Tandem Meetings of ASTCT and ... - Yahoo Finance - February 24th, 2024
- New approaches to live-track the production of different types of blood cells in mice - Medical Xpress - February 24th, 2024
- If Other Treatments Aren't Working -- Stem Cell Transplant May Be A Good Option In CLL - SurvivorNet - February 24th, 2024
- Expanding the Horizons of Cell and Gene Therapy - RegMedNet - February 24th, 2024
- The strangers who saved each others lives - BBC - February 24th, 2024
- City of Hope Research Featuring the Successful Treatment of the Oldest Patient to Achieve Remission for Leukemia ... - StreetInsider.com - February 15th, 2024
- 3D printing and material processing combined to create artificial bone - Optics.org - February 15th, 2024
- Man, 63, is in remission from HIV five years after receiving groundbreaking stem cell transplant... - The Sun - February 15th, 2024
- Team demonstrates fabrication method to construct 3D structures that mimic bone microstructure - Phys.org - February 15th, 2024
- Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Their Role in Development and Disease Therapy - The Scientist - February 15th, 2024
- Blood cell family trees trace how production changes with aging - MIT News - February 7th, 2024
- New study on promising stem cell-based therapy for Crohn's disease - Medical Xpress - January 30th, 2024
- Second haploidentical bone marrow transplantation with antithymocyte antibody-containing conditioning regimen for ... - Nature.com - January 30th, 2024
- Stem cell study shows how gene activity modulates the amount of immune cell production in mice - Medical Xpress - January 30th, 2024
- Global Stem Cell Therapy Industry Outlook to 2028, Driven by Therapeutic Innovations and Clinical Advancements ... - Yahoo Finance - January 30th, 2024
- 1st-of-its-kind therapy blocks immune attack after stem-cell transplant - Livescience.com - January 22nd, 2024
- Individualized dose of anti-thymocyte globulin based on weight and pre-transplantation lymphocyte counts in pediatric ... - Nature.com - January 22nd, 2024
- Implications of stress-induced gene expression for hematopoietic stem cell aging studies - Nature.com - January 22nd, 2024
- LVHN announces opening of new stem cell transplant center. Here's what that means for the Lehigh Valley - The Morning Call - January 22nd, 2024
- Fast Five Quiz: Chronic GVHD Risk Factors and Prevention - Medscape Reference - January 22nd, 2024
- Could Treatments for HIV and Sickle Cell Open the Gene Therapy Floodgates? - BioSpace - January 22nd, 2024
- Effects of fine particulate matter on bone marrow-conserved hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells: a systematic ... - Nature.com - January 14th, 2024
- Donating Bone Marrow and Stem Cells: The Process and What To Expect - On Cancer - Memorial Sloan Kettering - January 14th, 2024
- No, Rep. Steve Scalise Didn't Vote Against Stem Cell Research From Which He Is Now Benefiting - Yahoo News - January 14th, 2024
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Market to Grow Rapidly During the Study Period (2019-2032), Evaluates ... - PR Newswire - January 14th, 2024
- Life-saving donation from Philly athlete saves life: 'Feeling so strong, I owe that all to him' - AOL - January 14th, 2024
- The Key to Creating Blood Stem Cells May Lie in Your Own Blood - ScienceAlert - January 14th, 2024
- Dr Phillips on the Rationale for the GLOBRYTE Trial in Relapsed/Refractory MCL - OncLive - January 14th, 2024
- COVID-19 and HSCT Recipients: Risk Factors and Prevention Measures - Medriva - January 14th, 2024
- Bone Marrow Transplant: Heres What You Need To Know About This Therapy - Times Now - January 5th, 2024
- New insights about the development of hematopoietic stem cells - Drug Target Review - December 28th, 2023
- Bone Marrow Transplantation | Johns Hopkins Medicine - December 20th, 2023
- Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplant | American Cancer Society - December 20th, 2023
- Embryonic-stem-cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells relieve experimental contact urticaria by regulating the functions ... - Nature.com - December 20th, 2023
- Researchers discover crucial step in creating blood stem cells - Phys.org - December 20th, 2023
- A niche topic: understanding the development of hematopoietic stem cells - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center - December 20th, 2023
- Vertex developed a CRISPR cure. Its already on the hunt for something better. - MIT Technology Review - December 20th, 2023
- FDA approves cure for sickle cell disease, the first treatment to use gene-editing tool CRISPR - NBC News - December 12th, 2023
- First therapy using CRISPR technology will treat sickle cell disease - Morning Brew - December 12th, 2023
- 7 medical breakthroughs that gave us hope in 2023 - National Geographic - December 12th, 2023
- Understanding Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment - Everyday Health - December 12th, 2023
- Mansour bin Zayed witnesses inauguration of ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 - ZAWYA - November 26th, 2023
- ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 to take place in Abu Dhabi - ZAWYA - November 18th, 2023
- Orchard Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Announces Initiation of Rolling Submission for Biologics License Application of... - May 16th, 2023
- Family of 7-month-old in need of bone marrow transplant hosting donor registration event - CBS Pittsburgh - May 8th, 2023
- Anika Continues to Expand Addressable Market for Tactoset Injectable Bone Substitute with Additional 510(k) Clearance from FDA - Marketscreener.com - April 5th, 2023
- MorphoSys Completes Enrollment of Phase 3 MANIFEST-2 Study of Pelabresib in Myelofibrosis with Topline Results Expected by End of 2023 -... - April 5th, 2023
- VOR BIOPHARMA INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 25th, 2023
- BioRestorative Therapies to Seek FDA Approval to Expand the Clinical Application of BRTX-100 - Marketscreener.com - March 17th, 2023
- BioSenic delivers a new post-hoc analysis of its Phase III JTA-004 trial on knee osteo-arthritis with positive action on the most severely affected... - March 17th, 2023
- JASPER THERAPEUTICS, INC. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 9th, 2023
- For a range of unmet medical needs, India offers a fantastic opportunity to push cell and gene therapies: B .. - ETHealthWorld - March 9th, 2023
- NGM BIOPHARMACEUTICALS INC Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 1st, 2023
- Bone health: Tips to keep your bones healthy - Mayo Clinic - January 27th, 2023
- Bone marrow drive held for military wife with cancer - January 27th, 2023
- Bone cancer - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic - January 27th, 2023
- Bone | Definition, Anatomy, & Composition | Britannica - January 19th, 2023
- Bone Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster - January 19th, 2023
- What Is Bone? | NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National ... - January 19th, 2023