Article and photo submitted by Monique Bird.
Friday, Dec. 11, graduation day at the University of North Texas Coliseum, was special to Garland resident Jessica Cole and her family. The full-time mom and teacher was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just three days after beginning a rigorous master’s degree program and just a week after discovering that she and her husband were expecting their second child.
She was devastated by the news but determined not to let cancer ruin her life or her educational goals. Now, two years after that diagnosis, she has earned her master’s degree.
Diagnosis, treatment, delivery: Cole was six weeks pregnant with her second child when her doctor called and asked her to come to the office and bring her husband. She was informed that something odd had been found during a routine sonogram.
Referred to an oncologist, Cole was advised to terminate the pregnancy. She left the office, and 47 attempts later, found a doctor willing to treat her as a pregnant cancer patient. The type of chemotherapy she received was lower risk for the baby, but also less effective. It was also more expensive and insurance refused to pay. Radiation was a definite no.
Cole carried her son, Bennett, to full term and was induced three days after her due date. She still declined treatment because she wanted the health benefits of breast-feeding for her newborn son. So for three months, she built her stores of breast milk so that when she underwent the stronger chemo and radiation treatment, she’d have enough breast milk for the baby. When she felt confident that her baby’s needs were taken care of, she began harsher treatments.
Cole and baby Bennett see the doctor twice a year. For the baby, testing so far has shown no damage from the chemotherapy. For Cole, doctors are less conclusive and would like to test her again over the Christmas break. Neither has been declared cancer free.
Goals, teaching passion: Initially, she only told her best friend about her diagnosis. She never intended to tell her instructors, not wanting them to feel sorry for her and pass her because she was a cancer patient. Only when she realized the severity of the stronger chemo and “the reality of how you feel after,” she called her friend and asked her to inform two faculty members that she would miss some classes.
“That’s why a 4.0 was so important to me,” she said, adding that she wanted to prove that she had earned her grades through hard work – not out of pity.
She has taught full-time since 2012. She always knew she wanted to be a teacher, but when she came to UNT and met a little boy with Downs’ Syndrome in the child development lab, she fell in love and knew that a special needs classroom was where she was meant to be.
She earned her bachelor’s in 2011 from UNT while almost six months pregnant with their first child. She wanted to attend graduate school immediately, but decided to take a break. A couple of years later, a co-worker forwarded her an email about UNT’s Project STArT program that allows graduate students to take their classes together, bond over education and learn to use their experiences in the classroom and on-the-job coaching to become stronger teachers.
Lessons learned: On sharing her story: “The thought of possibly inspiring someone to further their education and follow their dreams is a chance that not everyone gets in their lifetime.”
On the need to let others help: “I’m very type A and want to do everything myself without help. In this, when I physically couldn’t get off the couch or hold my child, it was enlightening. If a marriage can withstand this, it can withstand anything.”
On trusting your heart: “I would say follow your heart and passion, and trust God to lead you to the path that He has meant for you.”