Jeanine's Story

Jeanine received a serious dose of perspective at the tender age of 21.

One day she went into surgery to have a cyst removed from her neck, a cyst she originally believed to be benign.

She soon learned, however, it was thyroid cancer, and although the cure rate is usually high, for Jeanine it would be a condition she would have to manage with checkups and treatments the rest of her life.

“You do what you have to do,” she says. “For your loved ones, for yourself.”

In the following years, she has not let cancer define her.

She is a devoted wife to her husband, Chris, a loving mom to two young boys, Miles and JJ, and a loyal friend to many others.

Chris, her husband of six years, says Jeanine finds courage in the open communication from the Moffitt Cancer Center Endocrine treatment team.

“Nothing is ever left to question for Jeanine,” he says. “She feels empowered knowing where her cancer is and knowing that she could live the rest of her life without it adversely affecting her.”

Jeanine says she values being a part of the decision-making process for her future, and making the hour and a half trek from her home in Orlando to appointments at Moffitt every six months or so isn’t asking too much. She calls Moffitt, “My home for my cancer care.”

She says, “[Moffitt’s doctors] tell you everything you need to know but they let you make the decisions that best suit your lifestyle and what you want out of your life which is really nice.”

As time goes on, Jeanine’s perspective stays strong.

“Some things that you think are so important are so trivial in the grand scheme of things because you’re still here to breathe, enjoy life, enjoy your kids,” Jeanine says. “What more could you want?”