Chicago woman documents her journey battling cancer on her blog
CHICAGO (CBS) – A Chicago woman who dealt with a dreaded diagnosis shared her journey online.
Jessica Zellermayer's words detailed the emotion and perspective of her journey for her thousands of readers. CBS 2's Joe Donlon had her story.
It seemed that everyone who knew award-winning news producer Jessica Zellermayer was in awe of her optimism and, ultimately, her courage in the face of cancer.
"When you look at the sun when it's rising in the morning, how beautiful that is, when you look at her smile, that's how it makes me feel and others have said the same thing," said Sherwood, Jessica's father.
She was just 47 when she died, but Jessica's parents, Marlene and Sherwood, said their daughter's kindness still touches people.
"Her memory will live on in all the people who knew her," Marlene said. "They'll never forget her."
One way Jessica's memory lives on is through her blog, "The World According to Jaz."
"She loved writing," Marlene said. "And it made her happy thinking people would benefit from it. Plus, she also felt good writing it herself, because she got some of her feelings out."
Jessica started her blog in 2011. Five years later, everything would change.
She wrote, "August 22, 2016. I'm at work. My cell phone rings. It's my radiologist. I know I'm about to learn some life changing and breaking news. 'You have cancer,' says the doctor."
"Her hope was that would help her get through whatever she was going through, but most importantly help other people," said Sherwood.
In entry after entry, Jessica wrote of joy, hope, and gratitude.
"Be thankful for your parents and friends," she wrote. "Remind yourself that bad days are just temporary. Nobody fights alone."
Just 10 months after Jessica first received the diagnosis, her close friend Richelle Holmes learned that she too had breast cancer.
"I had an extreme amount of guilt that I was going to live, and she wasn't," Holmes said. "She didn't want me to be sad about that."
So, Jessica joined her friend's fight. They would battle cancer together.
"Jess was just that special person," Holmes said. "And everybody's always looking for that purpose and that was hers."
But cancer didn't hit Jessica just once. It hit twice. The second time came as she was about to come home to Chicago after years in New York City.
"She was supposedly hitting the five-year mark, and as she was moving back here, they told her it had come back," Marlene said.
Again, Jessica let her blog tell the story.
"Moving to Chicago, a new job and a new apartment. Cancer had to show up uninvited to the welcome home party," she wrote.
But still, her optimism shined through, even when chemotherapy made everything she ate taste horrible.
"I'm finding it's the little things that happen during my day that bring me joy," she wrote. "I ate a waffle today, and it tasted like a waffle."
"You can also see in that it's not good news today, but dot, dot, dot. Her choice to flip that around and not dwell on that, but to think about that gratitude that is still in there every single day," Holmes said.
Family and friends said that was what Jessica was like up to the very end.
"She was a very, very positive human being despite what she was going through," Sherwood said. "And she was going through hell. I mean, she never showed it to us, never showed pain."
Marlene added, "She died on Valentine's Day, which I thought was very apt because she'll always be our valentine."
Jessica's last blog post is dated Oct. 29, 2022, a little more than three months before she died.
"Chemo continues," she wrote. "There's no change-up. Only hope for continued life. So Happy Halloween. I hope you've enjoyed this treat. It's a spook-tacular one!"
Holmes said, "When I remember Jess, that's what I remember. Just that smiling ray of sunshine that kept you going."
The blog is still up and still reflecting Jessica's mission.
"She just reached out to everyone, people she knew, people she didn't know," Marlene said. "You have cancer. Let me give you some advice. Let me help you. Let me touch you in some way."
"I just miss her tremendously. She was just a good human being," said Sherwood. "Someone you could trust, someone you could count on. She just brought life to people."
Jessica's parents said she loved the theater and saw the musical "Kinky Boots" some 20 times. They are hoping to partner with Chicago's theater community to honor Jessica in some way.
To read Jessica's blog, visit theworldaccordingtojaz.blogspot.com.
