I would like to honor and share the survival story of my sister, Jaime Willis-Cooper. Her experience with cancer has become forever apart of our daily lives. Her journey begins over 20 years ago, at the young age of 13. She wasn’t feeling well and her energy level was obviously depleted. My mom says she had a bad feeling and just knew she had to listen to her gut. After visiting our pediatrician, life would forever be changed. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. The news was devastating for our entire family. After removing her spleen and completing her radiation treatments, the healing process began. Life progressed as normal, as expected for about the next 8 years. Then, at the age of 24, Jaime received the heart breaking news that she had developed breast cancer. Doctor’s explained that the radiation she received years earlier would likely plague her for years to come and they were right. Her breasts were both removed and it was determined that her heart had been severely scared by the radiation. At age 28, my sister had her first heart attack. The call I received in the middle of the night was frightening. She was air lifted from her home and we later learned that she had flat lined in route. Our prayers were heard and she made it, again. Then at age 32, heart scared heart required open heart surgery. We were blessed; she recovered and began to heal. She is now 36 and a result of her radiation, continues to have small tumors removed from her neck from time to time. She is no stranger to biopsies, blood tests, white cells/red cells… she seems to know it all. But one of the most important things I hope she knows is how much she inspires the people in her life. This beautiful girl, sister, daughter, wife, mother and friend has given so much strength to people, even when she was so weak. As Jaime would say, "live today, as though it’s your last.”

Signed,
Jennifer Lowry