NEWPORT NEWS (WAVY) – Jamie Field, fittingly, has a passion for the sideline. The graduate of Denbigh Baptist Christian School now works for Riverside Healthy System, and assists Lionsbridge FC as the team’s athletic trainer.
But in 2019, a trip to VCU Medical Center took her away from her passion. In May of that year, at 22 years old, Field had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of skin cancer.
“I definitely had a lot of those gut-drop moments, where (I’m like) ‘Oh my goodness. What’s happening,'” said Field.
Doctors found a mass sitting on top of her heart, but before treatments could even begin, Fields experienced severe complications. “Basically, part of my heart was starting to collapse on itself,” she described.
Field endured major heart surgery, then was immediately transferred to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter in Norfolk to begin cancer treatment. Despite her situation, once she regained her strength, Field began working as an athletic trainer again.
One year, and 17 radiation treatments later, Field was declared cancer-free, exactly one day before her 24th birthday. “After experiencing not just having cancer, but getting treatment in the pediatric oncology department, I never want to forget that, and always want to give back in one way or another,” said Field.
She stayed true to her word. For her 25th birthday, and one-year cancer-free mark, Field hosted a party, and raised $1,000 for CHKD. “I told my friends, don’t give me gifts. Donate to CHKD,” she said.