Amanda Janzen Turns Cancer Into Life Lesson

This past week I met a very special person here at UCBA.  Amanda Janzen is a first year Pre-Pharmacy student and McMicken College of Arts and Science Communication alumna. 

However, the summer before Amanda’s sophomore year of college, she started getting weird symptoms.  After battling months of fatigue, weight loss, night sweats, and high grade fevers, she went to the doctors to get a cat scan.  

Her parents sat her down one Friday afternoon to tell her the results.  The doctors found a cancer cell present.  A week later the news was confirmed.  Amanda was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

While staying in school Amanda kept up with chemotherapy in the fall and radiation in the winter.  Amanda had a total of three surgeries, a bone marrow biopsy, countless CT scans and PET scans, eight chemotherapy treatments, and 20 rounds of radiation therapy. 

Amanda Janzen

Amanda traveled from home to main campus everyday to continue taking her classes.  Nothing was going to stop her from being a full time student at UC. 

“See, battling cancer gave me the rare opportunity to be on the other side of wellness,” she explained to me.  “For a short period of time, I got to see what it was like to fight to live.  Cancer helped me to put life into perspective.  I know that it seems kind of ridiculous to take something that is so negative and life threatening and turn it into some type of opportunity.  But I am not only a different person; I am a better person from this experience.  In just the blink of an eye, my life was turned upside down.  Life is too short and too precious to not be respectful, kind, courteous, and genuine.  Life is too wondrous to not chase all of your dreams and fulfill your ambitions.”

Amanda ended up taking a spring semester off after all of her treatment.  She needed a break from everything, so she could come back 100 percent ready for school.  She got back on track and finished out her junior and senior year at UC, graduating in the summer of 2012.  She felt like a new person. 

Amanda has been over five years in remission and declared “cured” by her oncologist this past December.  She is now currently a student here at UCBA for Pre-Pharmacy.  She has been inspired to do pharmacy from her own experiences and wants to help others out.  Drugs are what saved her life during chemotherapy.  

Amanda has hopes to get into main campus for the Fall 2016 program.