Hi everyone!

So awesome to be part of this amazing online community! Looking forward to connecting with you.

A little about me: when I was 16, I had a sudden heart attack with no prior health problems and wasn't expected to live through the night. I lived on an experimental heart assist device for nine months until I received a life-saving heart transplant. My left leg was amputated above the knee because of complications with surgery.

About a year after my heart transplant, the summer after my freshman year in college, life took another radical turn. I felt a lump on my neck that turned out to be non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Large B-Cell). I did outpatient chemo, lost my hair, and rocked a wig. Midway through my sophomore year, I was in remission

Then, 6.5 years later into my remission, I felt another lump. It was non-Hodgkin's again, this time Burkitt's lymphoma, and I went through intensive inpatient treatment, while trying to balance a social life in the one week I had outside of the hospital each month. I've been in remission since January 2008.

Cancer is a club that no one wants to be in, and yet, it has connected me with people in ways beyond what I would have ever imagined. Looking forward to hearing your stories and learning more about you.

If you're interested in learning more about my story, you can find me at www.jessicamelore.com

Talk to you soon!

Jess