A Chatham woman has great news in regards to her fight with leukemia, and she is sharing that message on social media.
Jocelyn McGlynn was diagnosed with acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML) in November 2018. She shared an update Wednesday evening through a video posted on the Facebook page "Win Rocky Win: Jocelyn McGlynn's Fight With Leukemia".
"They have found a 10 out of 10 perfect match for me. So my stem cell transplant -- or my new birthday -- will be on February 20," she said in the video.
The transplant comes at a good time, as Jocelyn also mentioned that based on her last bone marrow biopsy last week, she is in remission. In the video, she goes on to thank those who have supported her throughout the past few months.
"Thank you so much for your support and for keeping me strong through this," she said. "I really appreciate it, it's working. Things are rolling and I am so excited."
Jocelyn's father, Peter McGlynn said it's encouraging to know that a donor has been found because now they can look ahead to Jocelyn becoming 100 per cent healthy again.
"It's another good news thing that we are celebrating," said McGlynn. "Jocelyn is extremely happy, as a family we're extremely happy."
McGlynn had previously told BlackburnNews.com, that Jocelyn would be receiving care at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. He said once the transplant process gets underway, Jocelyn will be in Buffalo for about 100 days.
"If everything goes according to plan, she will receive her new stem cells on the 20th of February," said McGlynn. "She'll be in the hospital approximately another 30 days and then she has to remain in Buffalo for 60-70 days to ensure that the new stem cells have grafted properly."
Since being diagnosed with AMML, Jocelyn's family and friends have hosted several blood donor clinics and swab events throughout Southwestern Ontario. The goal was to find a match for her but to also help others.
"[The clinics] will help so many other families that are in a similar situation in the future or that are currently in this situation," said McGlynn.
Support for Jocelyn has also come from other areas besides Chatham-Kent and London. Before the diagnosis was made, Jocelyn was a student at Western University, in her fourth year of Medical Sciences. Since her treatment started, the word about Jocelyn spread to schools such as the University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University, York University, and Brock University.
"On behalf of myself and my family, thank you so much," said Jocelyn. "I can't believe the amount of people we have gotten to participate in the swab and blood [donor] clinics, it's incredible."
(Video courtesy of "Win Rocky Win: Jocelyn McGlynn's Fight With Leukemia" Facebook page.)