by MARY ELIZABETH ROBERTSON
Lifestyles Reporter

She has dark hair and is 5-feet-5-inches tall.

She takes 12 hours of classes, wants to one day work for a nonprofit organization and volunteers in her spare time.
Jackie M. Johnson, senior public relations major, is also a cancer survivor.  

In November 2005, Johnson became sick, and a trip to the infirmary diagnosed her with mononucleosis and bronchitis.
To feel better, she went home, but then developed a sinus infection.

After two weeks of a worsening condition, Johnson went to the hospital, and was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia on Dec. 20, 2005, and immediately started chemotherapy.

“Chemotherapy killed all components of my blood,” Johnson said.

Over a span of six months, Johnson had six chemotherapy treatments and received over 40 units of blood and platelets, blood particles that prevent excessive bleeding.

Though the cancer went into remission after her first chemotherapy treatment, Johnson continued to receive treatments as a precautionary measure.

Johnson was declared in remission July 26, 2006 and is not cured of cancer, but uses her experience to motivate others to give blood, as it was necessary for her own survival.

“In high school, I helped run and donated at the blood drives we had,” Johnson said. “I never thought I was the one who would receive the blood.”

Meredith E. Strother, senior public relations major, was 6 years old when her 2-year-old sister, Caroline, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 1994.

Caroline underwent two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy.

After nine months in remission, she was again diagnosed in May 1998.

In many cancer cases, doctors check siblings of the patient to see if their bone marrow is compatible.

According to marrow.org, doctors test human leukocyte antigen (HLA), the proteins in ones body.

Siblings who share the same mother or father inherit half of their HLA proteins, resulting in a 25 percent chance the sibling will be a bone marrow match.

However, even with four siblings in the Strother family, no one was a match.

Caroline could have taken bone marrow from a national registry, but the process may have taken too long.

The family decided to utilize a relatively new technology: a Cord Blood transplant.

“Basically, a cord blood transplant is taking the umbilical cord from a baby and using its bone marrow,” Strother said.

Caroline had to stay in the hospital for 117 days following her procedure, but she has been in remission for 11 years.

Both Stother and Johnson intern with the American Red Cross and speak of their experiences, hosting various club-sponsored blood drives throughout the year.

Appalachian State University hosted the 10th largest student-run blood drive in the state last year, collecting 1,060 pints.

Evan P. Quirk-Garvan, a sophomore sustainable development major, is the outreach coordinator for this year’s 1,000-pint blood drive.

Quirk-Garvan hopes to surpass the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s annual blood drive in donated pints.

“I hope we are going to beat them, and beat our record,” he said. “The more, the better.” 

The blood drive begins today at 8 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. in Holmes Convocation Center. Walk-ins are welcome.

“I know people get points for homecoming for volunteering and donating blood, but it makes me feel good to help other people,” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t have survived if people didn’t do this."

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