Cancer and Clinical Services Patient Stories

The healing power of science coupled with kindness

When you receive a cancer diagnosis, one of the most important parts of recovery is your experience during treatment, especially when part of that time occurs in isolation due to a pandemic. “At The James, I was treated like a person, not ‘a diagnosis,’ which is exactly what I needed. It gave me a sense of normalcy,” says Jacquelyn Oswald, who came to The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (The James) from her home in Wooster, about 95 miles away from Columbus, for chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant for leukemia. “I can’t say enough good things about everyone there — my doctors, nurses, even the housekeeping staff always came into my room with a smile on their face. You can lose all sense of dignity in a hospital too, but they just handled my physical care matter-of-factly and removed any need for embarrassment. They were great at explaining medical things, but we also talked about more than my illness. Their patience, love and kindness really helped get me through.”

Jacquelyn uses the word “wonderful” multiple times when describing her weeks spent in the hospital and treatment time afterward, which may not be what you’d expect when telling a story that includes a complex disease like leukemia, chemotherapy, two unexpected bowel obstructions — one of which required surgery — and many days spent alone because her husband was not allowed to come into the hospital during the most difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also had to rent an apartment in Columbus after she was discharged from the hospital following her stem cell transplant so she would be within an hour of The James. “God was in charge of this whole leukemia journey, from the day of diagnosis to this day,” she says. “My faith kept me strong, but so did the people who cared for me.”

Jacquelyn’s successful leukemia treatment plan was managed by hematologists Ayman Saad, MB/BCH, and Alison Walker, MD, who specialize in blood cancers. “I wrote something about each of them and submitted it to Ohio State, because I wanted to make sure they were recognized,” Jacquelyn says. “They both followed up with me. Dr. Saad thanked me in person on my next visit, and Dr. Walker sent me a handwritten personal note."

“When I go to appointments, they remember things about my life too. They always ask me about my granddaughters. I can’t express how that makes me feel — they gave me back my health, but they also know me. It’s just wonderful.”