Honored Hero
Meet our 2025 Honored Hero Jessica
Message to Scenic Shore Riders, Volunteers, and Donors:
“There have been many advances in the treatment and care of blood cancers, thanks to the generous donations you have given. The research that contributed to the clinical trial I participated in was funded by LLS, and their ongoing work continues to make groundbreaking treatments—like the one I received 13 years ago—become standard protocol for adult blood cancer patients. The support you provide to families and patients through your donations makes an incredibly difficult time much more manageable. Thank you for helping people like me not only survive but thrive during and after treatment!”
My Story:
2011 – Diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
2012 – In remission! My first year as part of Scenic Shore
2016 – Still in remission – five years cancer free!
2021 – A decade in remission!
2024 – Thirteen years out…and diagnosed with ALL again
2025 – Received a stem cell transplant and am technically in remission again!
This past year has been one of the hardest of my life.
Instead of running, tackling, and playing with my boys, I received chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Instead of reading books to them at night, I spent nights in the hospital, fighting infections with a weakened immune system. Instead of enjoying big family celebrations, like my grandma’s 98th birthday, I was stuck at home with side effects. Instead of celebrating my son’s 7th birthday with him, I was recovering from a stem cell transplant in January.
It’s not what I expected. It’s not what I wanted. Nobody is ever ready to hear that something they thought was in the past—something they thought they had defeated—is back.
But honestly? That’s the crap of cancer that creeps in.
Not every day. Not every minute. Because in between all those years, there was so much joy.
There was marriage, kids, snuggles, bike rides, camping trips, birthday parties, family celebrations, survivor parties, reunions with friends at each year’s Scenic Shore ride, laughter, love, peace, cheering at sporting events, new houses, new friends, new cities, old friends still there… thriving.
I could sit here and focus on the fact that I was dealt this hand again. But that would take up space in my heart and my brain that belongs to all the amazing and good things above.
Instead, I choose to think about how far we’ve come in treatments and cures.
The clinical trial I participated in back in 2011? It is now considered standard of care for adults like me in 2025. The immunotherapy options that didn’t exist for my first diagnosis? They’re saving my life now. The knowledge gained about stem cells and transplants? It’s giving me the chance to thrive after this process.
I think about Scenic Shore and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They never stop fighting for people like me. They don’t stop. They won’t stop. And that is my motivation to keep fighting and keep raising money for research, patient support, and caregiver support.
I think about the incredible village that has surrounded us through both diagnoses—prayers, cards, meals, hugs, helping with my kids, just being there. The second I start feeling sorry for myself, someone sends a message reminding me I’m not alone. Fellow survivors who have relapsed and found remission again cheer me on and show me the other side—again.
I hate that I had to be told this news twice. But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the people who love you will lift you up. They will always lift you up.
That’s how you defeat cancer. You overwhelm it with love (and some really good medical attention). That’s what we do when we ride 150 miles for cures.
Every pedal rotation, every hill, every drip of sweat—it’s an outpouring of love that spreads into the universe, and it’s bigger than cancer. It will always win.
My Treatments:
-Hyper-CVAD treatment (2 rounds) started 8/13/24
-Blinatumomab (3 rounds) started 10/9/24
-1st Remission from 3/16/12 – 7/25/24
-2nd Remission from 11/15/24 – Present
-Stem cell conditioning regimen (chemo and total body irradiation) 1/3/25 – 1/9/25
-Allogeneic stem cell transplant 1/10/25
-Cytoxan chemotherapy post-transplant days +3 and +4, 1/13/25 – 1/14/25
How Has LLS Helped:
-Meeting fellow survivors and people fighting with us
-Podcast to learn more about what I’m going through
-LLS funded research used for my clinical trial
My Interests:
-Watching and playing sports with my kids, age 9 and 7
-Family game nights
-Camping with our trailer at state and national parks
-Reading historical fiction and “spicy” books
-Riding the shore for a cure!