“Love.”
It’s the first word that comes to mind when Jayde Thompson thinks about her experience at Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, North Dakota.
“The way that I get treatment is love from the nurses and the doctors,” she says. “And love from my family because we get to be together because it’s so close to home. I never don’t feel loved when I’m at Roger Maris Cancer Center.”
Thompson was a freshman in college when she was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. She attributed her worsening cough and troubled breathing to the stress of semester finals. But her doctor discovered something far more serious: a football-sized tumor compressing her lung.
Thompson and her family, from Warroad, Minnesota — a small town in the northern part of the state — traveled to two different cities for treatment. They left behind friends and family, even moving out of state for six months, before they discovered Roger Maris Cancer Center.
“It’s wonderful to have somewhere close to get my treatment,” she says.
Fargo is a four-hour drive from Warroad, allowing Thompson to travel back and forth in a day. Simple comforts, like sleeping in her own bed, mean the world to her while she faces the challenges of treatment.
“There’s no place like home. I mean, you have your family there. You’re comfortable. Your pets are there,” she says. “I’m getting back to where I was, slowly but surely.”
This fall, Thompson, who’s 20 years old, will help celebrate the 20th annual 61 For 61 Radiothon and Roger Maris Cancer Center Home Run Walk as the honorary chair. In this role, she will represent other survivors and patients and help raise funds to support the center’s mission.
“People should support and donate to Roger Maris Cancer Center because there are sick children with cancer and other types of sickness that need help. Their families need help,” Thompson said.
Thompson will take part in both events that will raise money for cutting-edge cancer research and patient care at Roger Maris.
Watch Jayde Thompson share her story.
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Posted In Cancer, Foundation, News
