Dialogues

Sep 5, 2025, 08:05

What Happens When Cancer Meets a Global Pandemic? | Patient stories

In this episode of Stage Zero, we meet Harjeet Kaur — a survivor, storyteller, and community builder — who faced one of the rarest forms of T-cell lymphoma with secondary HLH during the global pandemic. From battling life-threatening fevers and months of uncertainty, to undergoing a stem cell transplant in complete isolation, Harjeet’s story is one of resilience, loss, and transformation.

In this conversation, Harjeet shares:

The early signs of her rare lymphoma and the challenges of getting diagnosed as an immigrant in Canada
What it was like to undergo a stem cell transplant in isolation during COVID-19
The physical and emotional losses she faced, including fertility and vision
How her brother became her life-saving stem cell donor
The realities of early menopause as a young cancer survivor
What “thriving” means to her today — finding purpose in her second life

00:00 Introduction
00:34 Quick-fire questions: If cancer were a person
01:20 The song that carried her through treatment
01:59 Advice for someone newly diagnosed
02:12 Early symptoms and the long road to diagnosis
03:55 Diagnosis of rare T-cell lymphoma with HLH
04:40 Undergoing a stem cell transplant during the COVID-19 pandemic
05:57 The losses: hair, fertility, and vision
07:58 A second life through her brother’s stem cell donation
08:25 Creating Chai & Hope for South Asian survivors
10:00 Breaking stigma in the community
14:00 Advocacy and raising awareness as an immigrant survivor
17:00 Life after survival – rebuilding strength with yoga and support programs
19:21 Living with early menopause at 32
22:34 Finding hope and purpose in survivorship
24:05 Closing reflections – survival is not the end, but the beginning

cancer cancer awareness Cancer Support cancer survivor Harjeet Kaur Hope After Cancer OncoDaily Oncology Pandemic Story patient stories rare cancer Stage Zero Stem Cell Transplant

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