At 27 years old, Jessica Preiato was focused on the future. She had a rewarding job and was planning her upcoming wedding to her best friend and the love of her life, Michael. When she received an unexpected diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013, her world turned upside down. Determined not to let cancer control her life, Jessica kept working and got married. But when her disease didn’t respond to chemotherapy, she decided to come to Memorial Sloan Kettering for more options.
- Jessica Preiato was planning her wedding when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013.
- When her cancer didn’t respond to chemotherapy, Jessica decided to come to MSK for treatment and was able to enroll in a new clinical trial.
- After she had a positive response to the trial, she received an autologous stem cell transplant to help her body produce red blood cells.
- When her cancer returned, MSK had other treatment options for her, and Jessica continues to see her team at MSK for care.
- Today, Jessica is happily married, in a new home, and thinking about starting a family.
At MSK, Jessica saw medical oncologist Craig Moskowitz, who enrolled her in a clinical trial for a new treatment using the drug brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris®). As the treatment progressed, she got to know her care team, bonding with Dr. Moskowitz over their mutual love of pop culture and developing a great relationship with her nurse practitioner, Susan McCall.
By the summer of 2014, Jessica had a complete response to the treatment — there was no trace of the cancer in her body. This meant she was eligible for an autologous stem cell transplant, in which her own blood would be used to help her body make new blood cells.
Unfortunately, Jessica was among the small percentage of patients who don’t respond to standard treatments such as stem cell transplants, and her cancer returned in 2015 and again in 2017. But MSK had other options for her. Jessica took part in two more clinical trials and also began taking brentuximab again. She continues to receive treatment at MSK but is feeling well and thinking about her future.
Besides the access to promising treatments MSK gave Jessica through the clinical trials, she also received her regular testing close to home, at MSK Westchester, and gained the confidence to make long-term decisions about her life. When she and her husband asked her care team if they thought it was a good idea to buy a home, they gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Jessica and Michael bought their first home in 2016 and are making more plans for their future together.
