Like most students who are seniors at the UIC College of Nursing, Janna Janthapaiboonkajon is currently working through her clinical rotations. However, her path to graduation and passion for nursing look different. That’s because in January 2023, after going to urgent care at the Miles Square Health Center for what she thought was her asthma, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Her treatment plan led to her being intubated and postponing nursing school. The community she gained while at nursing school never left her side. Janna had friends and teachers visit her during treatment, which she underwent from January to June 2023. Cancer took a toll on her physically and mentally. However, the message she wants people to hear is not only about the anxiety and effects of cancer during treatment but about what happens after treatment as well.
Janna remembers crying returning to class for the first time. She was going to be with a new cohort of people and felt like an imposter with chemo brain fog. Dealing with swelling and fatigue made jumping right back into the life she left behind hard. Janna said, “Sometimes, after treatment, it feels like all the love goes away.” The initial outpouring of love from everyone slows down, but the survivor still deals with so much, including the pressure to make the most out of a new lease on life. It is this reality that has made Janna so passionate about survivorship programs.
Thankfully, Janna built a community of people who embody the true heart of the nursing profession: compassion. Janna wrote, “Cancer impacts everyone differently. But whether it’s a friend, loved one, or colleague, the community you gain through the experience is profound and something worth celebrating. It’s the person who sits with you in the waiting room. It’s the nurse who cracks a joke when you’re anxious. It’s the classmate you can lean on when you’re struggling.”
Janna, now the Student Council President at UIC Nursing, is pursuing a career in oncology nursing. She felt a special type of compassion from her oncology nurses that inspired her to choose the same path. Janna recalls turning 21 while in the hospital, and all of the nurses came into her room and poured her ginger ale as if it was champagne in a nightclub. It was those little moments of support that kept her spirits high.
To give back and spread her message, Janna hosted a fundraiser called “Pi-ing it Forward for the University of Illinois Cancer Center” on March 14 (3/14) Pi Day. She sold slices of pizza and pie at UIC Nursing, raffled off items, and had students pay to pie their teachers in the face. After the event, the Student Council delivered pie to the cancer clinic at UI Health.
“Pi-ing it Forward” has already raised more than $5,700 for the University of Illinois Cancer Center Survivorship Program, which provides outstanding, comprehensive, patient-centered care that reduces the long-term negative impacts of cancer and cancer treatments for all patients. The Survivorship Program ensures a patient’s whole health is considered by working to minimize the negative consequences of cancer and cancer treatments. Since everyone is different, care is personalized to meet each person’s unique needs.
Janna’s fundraiser continues through the end of March. Click the button below to donate.