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Back from Hodgkin's lymphoma, she has her dance steps, her hair and her attitude By
Kari Gray Brushing her hair long blond hair along her neck, she notices something. It's on the side of her neck, a small bump. She asks her friend, whose house she is at, what it is. It's probably just a swollen lymph node, her friend said. That was October 1999 and now it's January 5, 2000, and the bump on her neck has swollen to the size of a golf ball. Jill Broadbent, 19, goes into surgery to have it removed. The surgery is successful and Broadbent goes in the waiting room to see her family and wait for the doctor, who is also her uncle, to give them some good news. Her uncle comes to the waiting room after speaking with a pathologist. "I have some good news and some bad news," he said. That's how Broadbent remembers the day. The day she was diagnosed with cancer. Broadbent asked the doctor if she would still be able to dance. Dancing was her life. She's danced as a cheerleader in high school, she coaches a little league cheerleading team in the south end of the valley and she dances on the Utah State University Aggiettes dance team. She also worked at the Dance Wear Boutique in Logan. Even cancer wouldn't stop her from dancing. "I never thought I would die," Broadbent said. "However, lots of times I actually think why was I blessed to fight it and survive," she said. She said, "So much of it was mental and everyone treated my like I was normal." Now, when she goes on dates and the subject of her cancer comes up, the guys think she's joking around. The type of cancer Broadbent had is called Hodgkin's lymphoma. Sometimes called Hodgkin's disease, according to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org, this kind of cancer starts in the lymph nodes and related organs that are part of the body's immune and blood- forming systems. The American Cancer Society estimated in 1999 that in 2000 about 7,400 new cases of Hodgkin's disease would be diagnosed in the United States and an estimated 1,400 people diagnosed will die during 2000. Yet, death rates have fallen over 60 percent since the early 1970's because of better treatment. What's strange about it, Broadbent said, is that it usually only effects males 25 to 30 years old. The doctors had to figure out how to treat it in a 19-year-old girl. Luckily, Broadbent said, Hodgkin's Lymphoma was one of the more curable cancers. Doctors decided that the treatment would be three hours of chemotherapy every two to three weeks, and five weeks of radiation treatment from the end of July to the beginning of September. Broadbent said during chemotherapy she would lie down with an IV bag hooked up to her arm. The medicine kills fast-growing cells. That's why she lost her hair. The chemotherapy also caused stomach problems. "Nothing tasted the same," she said, and "I lost about 20 pounds over four months. I looked sick, weighing about 110," she said. The doctor also suggested that I drop out of school since I was diagnosed right before the spring term of my sophomore year, Broadbent said. Broadbent kept working a few hours a week at the Dance Wear Boutique "just to get out of the house," and kept dancing through it all. She said dancing was a stress relief that took her away from her life for a while. She even danced in the end of the year recital. "I did it and I was bald," she said smiling. Yet, Broadbent said dancing isn't what got her through it all. It was her best friend since she was eight, Katie Webb. Webb remembers when she helped Broadbent shave her head. "Her hair was to the point where it was really, really thinned out and dry, but it was still long in patches," Webb said. "So we put shaving cream on her head and Bic-ed it" Webb was at work at the Dance Wear Boutique when Broadbent called to tell her she had cancer. "I think the shock came first. She didn't say anything and I just started bawling," Webb said. Webb said, "The thought of her hurting was unbearable and I didn't want her to be scared." ôI think we thought we were invincible before this happened," Webb said. Broadbent said Webb would cheer her up and really show her support by doing random acts like putting tons of posters on her lawn saying "Wonder woman, we know you can do it!" Webb said, "Our greatest thing was that we laughed together." Broadbent and Webb got through it together and in September of 2000 Broadbent went into remission. "I still go back every two months for the next five years for a check up," Broadbent said, "but I still get nervous." Now, in her senior year of school, no one can tell she's a cancer survivor except those who went through it with her. Broadbent is an Aggiette, in the USU Fashion Association, teaches cheerleading to young girls and is the Relief Society President where she attends church at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Webb said, "I've never seen someone face something so challenging and always have a smile on their face."
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