The Key to Hope Lies in Research

When Joanne Downing first noticed a lump in her neck while playing golf one sunny Florida day in 2001, her first inclination was to dismiss it. However, her friend and golf partner — a former nurse — strongly encouraged her to see a doctor as soon as possible. Joanne made an appointment a few days later, and her doctor ordered an MRI to see what was going on.

“I’m lying there on the table and my doctor came in and said, ‘We have your results,’ putting them up on a screen,” said Downing. “My eyes immediately went to these white spots all over my body. I thought it might be ovarian
cancer, but he said, ‘No, look at the white spots. Every white spot is a lymph node.’”

After going back to Georgia to meet with her primary care physician, Joanne was referred to an oncologist, who diagnosed her with stage four follicular lymphoma (FL). She underwent treatment for six months and then another six months of maintenance, which successfully kept her lymphoma in remission for 11 years.

In 2012, however, Joanne’s lymphoma returned. Not being one to sit still for very long, Joanne dove into her new treatment, motivated by a strong desire to be there for her family.

“I have always been an energetic person, and I like doing a lot of things, and I was like, ‘Let’s get this show on the road!’” said Joanne. “I’m an only child, and we adopted our two children, so it’s always been very important to me to be with our children and grandchildren. That was one of the reasons I was determined to get better, because I really wanted to spend time with and get to know my grandkids. That gave me the energy to keep going.”

Joanne underwent a variety of treatments before being treated with rituximab (Rituxan), which proved effective for her. Today, she undergoes maintenance every two to three months and full body scans every six months to make sure that her lymphoma is under control. Her husband, George, has been by her side every step of the way.

“I refuse to give up,” said Joanne. “I’m a fighter, so I keep on trying. You just never know. I’ve found most things in life are that way. If you want to succeed, you need to work for it. My thinking has always been, ‘Let’s get on with the things that we have to do, and let’s enjoy what we’re doing.’ I don’t want to think about it—I want to DO things, so that’s what I did.”

Today, at 83, Joanne and her husband have two grown children, two grandchildren, and a great-grandchild on the way, along with two lovingly spoiled dogs — Sweet Pepper and Cutie Pie. They split their time among their homes in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.

“I don’t play golf or tennis anymore, but I have learned to play mahjong, which I enjoy,” she said. “And of course, I do a lot of reading and enjoy spoiling our two dogs and being there for my family. My granddaughter is now pregnant with her first child, and I can’t wait to hold my great-grandbaby. That’s definitely a motivator for me.”

Joanne may no longer be on the tennis court or golf course, but she’s still driven to succeed.

“I always set these tasks for myself, and I do them because they’re on my list,” she said. “I’m going to accomplish what I want to do. If I’ve got 13 things I want to do today, I’m going to get as many of them done as I can. That’s just the way I live my life, and it works for me.”

So what’s her secret? Joanne says that she and her husband are both die-hard optimists who don’t dwell on the negative.

“We look at the good side, and we look at what things can be accomplished. We focus on things that are going to happen, and we don’t dwell on things that have happened,” she said. “We’ve always believed that life is good, and you can always work on it to make it better.”

Committing to a Cure

A big part of making their lives better is that Joanne and George regularly donate to the Lymphoma Research Foundation. The couple recently made their largest-ever contribution in support of the Foundation’s research program, challenging others to do the same.

“I won’t give money just to give money. I want to give to a Foundation that is trying to help people with my type of lymphoma,” she said. “We wanted to find an organization that understands lymphoma and its impact on those diagnosed. After doing a lot of research, we decided to support the Lymphoma Research Foundation because we believe in the work they’re doing.”

Joanne and George are particularly impressed by the Foundation’s unwavering commitment to finding a cure.

“It’s important to know that someone is out there looking for a cure, that somebody cares,” said Joanne. “We were interested in research being done on my type of lymphoma, and it was very important to us to get to know some of the doctors doing the research. Through the Foundation, we’ve been able to hear about what research is in process, what’s worked, what hasn’t worked, and what might work for me. What we hope for — what we all hope for — is finding a cure.”

Having now lived almost 22 years with lymphoma, Joanne is clear that the key to hope lies in conducting more research into potential cures and improving each patient’s quality of life. She remains very hopeful and looks forward to what’s next.

“I’m just glad that I’ve had such a wonderful oncologist and that I’ve had a great support system with my family,” said Joanne. “And I’m grateful that I’ve been able to spend almost 22 years working on this and I’m still going strong, so now I’m waiting for my first great-grandbaby to come. So, there’s hope. There’s always hope.”

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