by Nate Widom
If you’ve ever taken a Zumba® class at HAC, you’ve probably felt Jan White’s energy. Through all her pure joy and encouragement, it’s hard to imagine that nearly a decade ago, she was just weeks from dying. In 2016, Jan was diagnosed with aggressive Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. What followed became known in their home as “the Adventure.” It included months of relentless chemotherapy, radiation, hospital stays, and a fight to save her spinal cord and life.
Since coming out of treatment, she’s advocated on Capitol Hill, spoken and worked with federal, state, and local elected officials, participated multiple times in the Philadelphia Big Climb, and raised thousands of dollars for blood cancer research. This year, Jan was named a National Honored Hero by Blood Cancer United for her survival and unwavering commitment to helping others. This is the story of how Jan chose “Onward” and why she’s still climbing.
Getting the News and Starting Treatment
“In early 2016, I was studying for my fourth-degree black belt, I was running a small business with my husband, I’m teaching kickboxing…life is good,” Jan recalls. “But then I started having pain in my left shoulder blade that grew ever-increasingly worse.”
Over the next couple of months, Jan would repeatedly visit doctors. Initially, her pain was thought to be from a broken rib or injured shoulder. Still, her condition continued to worsen before answers arrived.
“On the night of Good Friday, I coughed, and it was like lightning bolts down my legs. And suddenly my legs weren’t working quite right. The next two weeks were a whirlwind of doctors appointments, scans, and blood work.
An MRI revealed Jan had multiple tumors, described as “big, nasty, and invasive.” Initially thought to be benign, a biopsy revealed devastating news days later. She had Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
According to Blood Cancer United, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma isn’t just one disease, but rather a term for types of blood cancer that occur in lymphocytes, white blood cells.
Jan recalls the phone call that next morning, “Be in this office in one hour, pack a bag, you are not going home. You are being admitted directly to the hospital from the office. We have to begin chemotherapy today. We have to try to save your spinal cord and your life.” There was no time for panic. She just held her husband for a few moments, packed a bag, and headed straight to Christiana Care’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center within the hour.
There was good cause for the urgency. Jan was estimated to be 7-10 days away from being completely paralyzed and three weeks from death. Jan underwent rigorous treatment that lasted five and a half months, including “96 straight hours of chemo around the clock, every three weeks,” she recalls.
To protect her spine, Jan received additional chemo via repeated injections to her head port, called the Ommaya reservoir.
“All of the drugs you take – it can kill you. But there was no option because [otherwise] it was going to be game over really fast.” After her initial chemotherapy, Jan underwent inpatient, high-dose chemo and then almost a month of radiation.
During this period, Jan gives special thanks to her husband, Michael. “He shouldered me, our son, our business, our home, for a year. Five straight days of chemo. I would go in the morning, get what I had to have there, and go home with a 500 ml bag and a pump connected. It would go all night, and then we’d have to go in the morning and do it again.”
To better cope, Jan would change the terms typical of her situation. “It’s not a journey; it’s an adventure,” she says. “They’re not side effects, they are souvenirs. Because you should always have souvenirs from an adventure.”
Even through the challenges, Jan was determined and ready to fight. “This is what you have to do. This is not optional, unless you’re ready to be done. And I wasn’t ready to be done.”
A Road to Recovery Featuring Physical Therapy, Group Fitness, and Support
Thankfully, Jan beat her cancer. But after those five and a half grueling months of treatment, her adventure wasn’t over. Her body was weak, and because of the cancerous tumors invading her spine, Jan had trouble walking and had to re-learn basic tasks.
“It’s very physical. It’s very mental,” Jan explains. “Chemo brain is real. Your brain never really recovers.”
“I was reduced to the point I could no longer walk without the walker. I was too weak to dress and bathe myself,” she remembers. “I was not allowed to cut my own food because if I cut myself, I may bleed out. It was humbling…like I’m a third-degree black belt…what the heck?”
In her professional life, Jan was worried she couldn’t contribute to the business she and Michael share – a special event design and production company. “People are going to fire us, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” Jan thought. But thankfully, all of their clients stayed.
Physical therapy was critical to help Jan regain mobility and independence, so she ended up at Elite PT’s Hockessin location inside HAC. With frequent appointments, she made a remarkable recovery. In about two months, she ditched her walker for a cane. Another two months later, she was able to walk cautiously on her own.
After a couple of years of routine appointments, her physical therapists felt she was ready for the next step. They suggested HAC’s group fitness classes, so Jan became a HAC member and got started. She first tried classes with more gentle movements, such as Tai Chi and Mind Body Balance. Eventually, Jan was ready for Zumba®. “When I first started in Zumba, it was me sitting in the back of the room hanging onto the wall, and I would do what I could,” she recalls.
Now, Jan is a regular. “The support I get here is amazing. I get hugs and cheers…if I’m traveling a lot, I have to let everyone know because if I don’t, then everyone worries, which is very sweet.”
Journey to Advocacy
In 2017, over a year after the start of her adventure, one news segment ignited a fire in her and sent her down the path of cancer advocacy. During a discussion about repealing the Affordable Care Act, a congressman gave a radio interview. “He essentially asked, ‘Why should good people have to pay for those with pre-existing conditions?’” Jan recalls. The comment left her incensed. Jan had fought too hard for her life to let the conversation unfold without her voice in it. If her story could change even one perspective, she was determined to tell it.
She immediately called the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (now called Blood Cancer United) to become a Legislative Volunteer Advocate. “I didn’t know how to be an advocate, but I give directions to U.S. Senators all the time as part of what I do for a living,” she explains.
At the time, Senator Tom Carper was planning a patient roundtable where cancer survivors from Delaware shared their stories. The organization asked her to participate.
“I crafted about a 2.5-minute write-up of our story, and much to my shock, I got a call from the Washington D.C. office of Senator Carper that said I made an impression on the Senator,” she explains. Next thing she knew, Senator Carper was sharing her story on the Senate Floor as part of the healthcare debate.
Jan’s advocacy had only just begun, but she was already seeing her impact at work. “It’s some of the most rewarding work I have ever done. When you can talk with a state or federal representative and help them understand a piece of legislation and how it will truly impact blood cancer patients and their families, it makes my month every time.”
Climbing High
Jan would continue raising funds for research, supporting families, and influencing legislation. In 2022, she took on Blood Cancer United’s Big Climb. In 13 cities across the country, participants climb the steps of skyscrapers and stadiums to raise money and awareness for blood cancer research. Her friends from Zumba class have even joined in on a few of the Big Climb events, too.
To Jan, it’s not only a great cause, but it’s deep and personal. Throughout her adventure, she was told numerous times of all the things she would never be able to do. Taking on The Big Climb lets Jan honor the gift of life she’s received and thank those who supported her through the toughest moments, including her family, doctors, physical therapists, strangers, and friends.
But after one successful climb, Jan kept going, finding more ways to make a difference. Through her efforts, she was promoted to the Delaware State Lead for Blood Cancer United. Here, she became the primary liaison between a local team of five advocates for our small but mighty state and national leadership.
Thanks to her work, Jan was nominated as one of the organization’s 2026 National Honored Heroes. While stunned at first, she then thought, “This is mine if I want it.” She graciously accepted the honor, which was shared with another inspiring survivor, a little boy named Oakley.
“My job is to tell my story and help people understand why [research] is so important,” Jan explains. “Because of that research, I’m here.” This honor allows her to make media appearances and connect with other climbers, donors, and top-level leadership at Blood Cancer United.
Also, for 2026, she challenged herself to travel the country and complete five Big Climbs: Dallas, Minneapolis, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Wisconsin. “If opening my big mouth can make people open their hearts and their wallets, I’m alive because of research. Let’s go.”
For such a feat, Jan trains with HAC Personal Trainer Damon Marable once a week. Plus, she’ll do Zumba 3-5 times a week and physical therapy every two weeks.
“The Bank of America Climb in Dallas scares me the most. That’s 70 flights straight up. It’s intimidating, but I’m pretty damn determined. If I have to take a break, so be it.”
Nevertheless, Jan will never stop her advocacy.
“I can’t see my advocacy ending when I retire from our business. If me telling my story can help other patients, that stays,” Jan concludes.
Reflecting on Her Adventure
While Jan appears to most people as lively, active, and initially pain-free, “it’s all visual,” she says. Even through all her hard work, she still endures chronic pain and neuropathy.
“There are tens of thousands of us walking around who deserve Oscars more than anyone in Hollywood,” Jan states. Because the cause of her chronic pain isn’t visible, onlookers often assume she’s fine. “I’ve been accused of attention seeking, exaggerating, and lying. You wouldn’t believe the stuff that gets thrown at you on top of everything else.”
Jan still gets regular blood work and MRIs, and she even goes through some health scares. “I fall two or three times a year, which freaks everyone out. If I trip, I can’t recover my feet fast enough,” Jan explains. “It’s sort of like whack-a-mole.” As she works on one thing, another thing pops up.
But one thing is for sure. Jan does not want to be pitied. “I can be in pain and sit on the couch, or I can be in pain and have a life,” she explains. “I got to watch my son graduate from college. I got to dance with him when he married his beautiful bride. It’s worth it.” At the wedding, Jan did some impromptu celebratory salsa dancing with her son. They spun, dipped, and brought the house down.
In 2023, Jan even got a tattoo on her left shoulder blade where everything started. “Non-Hodgkin ribbon, butterflies, flowers, and two words on the ribbon – I WIN!” she says. “For me, this is a permanent message to my body.”
She and Michael regularly travel and even climbed to the top of the Florence Cathedral (Duomo) in Italy with the support of Damon’s training. They still run their successful business, building presentations and shows for corporate clients. Jan even worked on a show at the Las Vegas Sphere! And, of course, she’s still active in Zumba and eagerly continues her advocacy.
To anyone going through a struggle, Jan says, “Onward.” “You are stronger than you ever believed you could be. And believe. It happens – I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. Believe. Believe and Onward.”
Jan’s shoulder tattoo contains a green Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma ribbon, butterflies symbolizing metamorphosis, flowers for growth, and the triumphant phrase, “I Win”.
For this year, Jan’s goal is to raise $100k through her big climbs. Climbing in-person with Jan requires a minimum donation of $150. However, the general public is free to make donations from home in any amount they choose. Jan stresses that anything makes a difference!
